Nevermore2009

Baltimore, MD, November 21, 2009: Edgar Allen Poe's life touched Boston, Richmond, Philadelphia and New York, but it is Baltimore, where Poe lived for a while and where he later tragically died, that has claimed Poe for its own. They have a house where Poe lived, the street where Poe died, the churchyard with Poe's tomb, an NFL football teamed named the Ravens after one of Poe's most famous poems, an annual city celebration of Poe's birth, and a just-ending year-long celebration of Poe's bicentennial, Nevermore2009.

We spent the day taking in special exhibits, finally visiting the Baltimore Poe house and attending an evening of Poe in film at Westminster Hall, the former Presbyterian church whose churchyard's most famous resident is Edgar Allen Poe.

We started at the small bicentennial exhibit in the Central Library of the Enoch Pratt Free Library.









The library's Edgar Allen Poe Collection includes letters by, to or about Poe, poems hand written by Poe, a lock of his hair and a piece of his coffin.














Piece of coffin and lock of hair:












Poe's last letter to his aunt Maria Poe Clemm in lower right:
Poe's manuscript for "To Elizabeth" and Sara Sigourney Rice's Edgar Allan Poe: A Memorial Volume, Baltimore: Turnbull Brothers, 1877:













Poe lived at 203 Amity Street between 1833 and 1835:


Poe's lap desk is below:











Exhibit in the Poe House kitchen; the portrait (center right) is a copy of a painting of Poe's wife painted after her death:

The stairs to the second floor were steep; the telescope was owned by Poe's stepfather:

The stairs to the third floor was more like a corkscrew, but the garret room was perhaps the nicest in the house:

Attman's has been a Baltimore institution since 1915 when it was in the center of the city's Jewish neighborhood. It's hard for us to try other Baltimore restaurants because the sandwiches at Attman's are just too good. Within a block of what is now Attman's was where Poe was in great distress before he was taken to the hospital where he later died:
The special Poe exhibition at the BMA featured Poe related works by many artist including Manet, Gauguin and Matisse. In the latter 19th century, Poe was more celebrated in France than in America.























The dome of Baltimore's city hall:

Westminster Hall is a former Presbyterian church whose churchyard's most famous resident is Edgar Allen Poe. It is the site of Baltimore's annual celebration of Poe's birthday. This evening was a showing of Mario Cavalli's short film The Cask of Amontillado, a showing of Roger Corman's House of Usher starring Vincent Price, and a panel discussion of Poe in the movies.
The monument over Poe's grave is lit at night: