Happy Bicentennial Birthday, Edgar Allan Poe!

Yesterday, the hub and I went up to Baltimore to pay our respects to Mr. Poe; we went to his grave in Westminster Cemetery:

http://photos.igougo.com/images/p701...ng_Grounds.jpg

And to his house, in a bad neighborhood (as it was then):

http://photos.igougo.com/images/p701...and_Museum.jpg

It was interesting and pathetic, all at the same time. He traded lifetime poverty for literary immortality, which I suppose is worth it.

We had lunch in Little Italy, and as we drove home, we passed Camden Yards, with a big billboard outside:

"We bleed Orange in summer, and Purple in winter. Yeah, we know. It's weird."

Sounds like you had a nice day of it. I like going to historical sites. When I lived on Long Island we used to go by the Amityville horror house! Not historical, but a fun place to scare your date! :D

Thanks for posting that Linda.

As a youth, Poe was one of the first poets I ever appreciated. I read The Raven and was struck by the dark imagery and the lyrical beauty of Poe's phrasing. His work struck my imagination like no other poet before or since.

Without your post I would have let this momentous anniversary slip by unnoticed amid all the hooplah of the inauguration. Thank you again.

Quote:

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El Dorado

Gaily bedight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old,
This knight so bold,
And o'er his heart a shadow,
Fell as he found,
No spot of ground,
That looked like Eldorado.

And, as his strength,
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow;
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be,
This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the mountains
Of the moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied,
"If you seek for Eldorado!"

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Poe was the first of the classic writers that really got my attention. I keep a collection of his works and read it often. My favorite poem

Quote:

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Annabel Lee


It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

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I've been reading Poe this evening, and I find that his memorable stories are memorable for a reason, and many of his forgotten stories are forgotten for a reason. "The Black Cat" is QUITE memorable, and may be the reason I am none too fond of cats to this day.

I remember "The Premature Burial" making quite an impression when I was about ten years old.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by patriot45

Sounds like you had a nice day of it. I like going to historical sites. When I lived on Long Island we used to go by the Amityville horror house! Not historical, but a fun place to scare your date! :D

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With a tiny bit of irony, Poe's house, depicted above, is at 203 N. Amity Street.