This evening I had the pleasure of attending a lecture about Edgar Allan Poe by Amy Branam Armiento, Ph.D., professor of English at Frostburg State University and immediate past president of the Poe Studies Association. Titled “The Macabre Poe,” the lecture is part of the annual October run of spooky, horror, and dark talks hosted by Profs and Pints, which brings college faculty members into bars, cafés, company offices, and other off-campus venues to share their knowledge.
Dr. Armiento gave a great presentation and I picked up a few tidbits about the great Poe that I didn’t know before. For example, he had something of a contentious relationship with his foster father, John Allan, so if you have a signed collectible and Poe’s signature spells out “Allan,” there’s a very good chance the signature is not authentic. I couldn’t blame Poe if he was resentful. He was taken in by John and Frances Allan when he was three years old and they never officially adopted him. Harsh.
So much for naming my bookends Edgar and Allan. Out of respect they are now Edgar and Lenore. See also, I’ve always thought it would be fun and rather metal to have two Vasa parrots and name them Edgar and Allan.
I doubt I’ll ever have Vasas though. If I ever spy a pair at Phoenix Landing, I’ll be there, but they’re hard to come by on the adoption circuit.
A woman in the audience tonight was involved in naming the current Baltimore NFL team, and thank goodness she’s a Poe fan. Otherwise, the Ravens might have been named the Blue Crabs or the Lighthouses. I’m sure both the team and whoever designed the Ravens logo appreciate that. Too bad this audience member wasn’t also involved in renaming the D.C. team, which used to be called the Redskins and now goes by the Commanders. My guess is no woman was involved in that nonsense, or at least no one who ever read or watched The Handmaid’s Tale and doesn’t hate women.
I picked up a copy of More Than Love: The Enduring Fascination with Edgar Allan Poe, a collection of essays edited by Dr. Armiento. In the essays, writers, poets, actors, visual artists, musicians, tour guides, teachers, and others describe how Poe has influenced their careers. I can’t wait to read it–but first, I will have to dig into my Barnes & Noble’s collector’s edition, The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe for a refresher on some of the tales Dr. Armiento discussed tonight.
And now for today’s candy, Necco wafers. These hardened discs of sugar and flavoring could have been made yesterday and they would still taste like they came into the world the same day Poe did.
zenzalei 