Edgar Allan Poe

164 years ago today, Edgar Allan Poe died, fittingly, under mysterious circumstances.  The stranger who routinely visited Poe’s grave on Poe’s birthday each year to place 3 roses and half a bottle of cognac on the grave, has also disappeared without any explanation.

 

 

Not very original, but like many others, my favorite Poe pieces are The Raven and The Murders in the Rue Morgue.  Much of his work has an underlying sense of loneliness and the feeling of being trapped, probably why it often appeals to teenage angst.

 

 

So pay tribute to a great writer by sitting back with a finger or two of cognac or brandy, and listening to Vincent Price, Christopher Walken or James Earl Jones read The Raven; they all can be found on You Tube along with The Simpsons episode, if that's more your style. 

I enjoy this rendition by the Alan Parsons Project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAE1XTvKLXA

 

Image from Morgan Library
& Museum site
http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?id=82

Or if you happen to be in New York, visit the Morgan Library and Museum to experience what sounds like an interesting and unusual exhibition “Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/books/edgar-allan-poe-exhibition-opens-at-the-morgan.html?_r=0

And from the Huffington Post - 11 Things you didn't know about Poe
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lynn-cullen/11-things-you-didnt-know-_1_b_4059140.html?ref=topbar