Tuesday, January 19, 2010

It made me sad today when I read that Edgar Allen Poe's grave went unvisited on this, his 201st birthday.  The mystery man (woman?) in his dark coat and hat and his white scarf was a no-show.  He didn't leave his 3 roses and half bottle of cognac.  And no note to explain his absence.

Is the visitor sick?  Dead?  Did he lose interest in the game?  Or did he lose his job and/or savings in the recession and just couldn't afford the pilgrimmage? 

Or perhaps this was the plan all along: for the mystery visitor to slip away from this ritual as unannounced as he slipped into it.
Posted by at

5 comments:

Sloth Bear said...

This is eerily similar to how I write motions. I usually have to stay late or work on the weekend when nobody else is around to see me "working" like that.

January 20, 2010 at 7:51 PM
Duke said...

I had been thinking that perhaps the visit had become too much of an "event" with press coverage and a crowd of onlookers and so it lost its meaning to the visitor.
I've always thought that if the visitor had a internet name, it would be annabelle lee

January 22, 2010 at 2:29 PM
S said...

I've thought that, too, Duke. It made me nervous when I learned that the crowds gathered there every year, although they did seem to keep a respectful distance if I understand correctly.

Don't laugh, but I would be strongly tempted to name a daughter Annabelle Lee.

January 22, 2010 at 2:31 PM
Duke said...

No, I wouldn't laugh at the name choice. It is melodic and would always bring moon beams and rising stars to mind. Still, the tenor of the poem as a whole might not be the background I'd want for the name of my daughter. Name selection is an interesting topic, I have three boys and sometimes I wonder if they appreciate having been named Moe, Larry and Shemp.

January 23, 2010 at 6:43 AM
Nance said...

I'm a huge Poe fan--I'm the American Lit specialist at my school and have been an AmLit teacher for 28 years--and have been threatening to write THE definitive Poe biography when I retire. It has been my life's mission to correct the constant stream of misinformation about Poe's life among my students and people in general. This news item came across my radar and made me ineffably sad. Mostly because the Poe Toaster had become sort of buffoonish, leaving notes with pop culture references, etc.

BTW: Annabel Lee is my favorite Poe poem. It's perfect. You could do far worse in a name...

January 24, 2010 at 8:28 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
 
Blog Designed by : NW Designs