Thursday, January 21, 2010

Poe Toaster No More?

That’s kinda sad.

It is what Edgar Allan Poe might have called “a mystery all insoluble”: Every year for the past six decades, a shadowy visitor would leave roses and a half-empty bottle of cognac on Poe’s grave on the anniversary of the writer’s birth. This year, no one showed.

Did the mysterious “Poe toaster” meet his own mortal end? Did some kind of ghastly misfortune befall him? Will he be heard from nevermore?

“I’m confused, befuddled,” said Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

The visitor’s absence this year only deepened the mystery over his identity. One name mentioned as a possibility was that of a Baltimore poet and known prankster who died in his 60s last week. But there is little or no evidence to suggest he was the man.

Poe was the American literary master of the macabre, known for poems such as “The Raven” and grisly short stories like “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Pit and the Pendulum.” He is also credited with writing the first modern detective story, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” He died in 1849 in Baltimore at age 40 after collapsing in a tavern.

(6) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0737 hrs
Culture

  1. “Nevermore.”

    Posted by dad29 on January 21, 2010 at 0942 hrs


  2. One name mentioned as a possibility was that of a Baltimore poet and known prankster who died in his 60s last week. But there is little or no evidence to suggest he was the man.

    Aside from the fact that he died last week and then nobody showed up. I think Edgar might have considered him a prime suspect.

    Posted by Charlie Hillman on January 21, 2010 at 1308 hrs


  3. If you ever want to read about the sad mess Poe was, check out The Beautiful Cigar Girl.

    http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Cigar-Girl-Rogers-Invention/dp/052594981X

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 21, 2010 at 1444 hrs


  4. Half a bottle of cognac; near MA; died this past year: Teddy Kennedy?

    At first I was thinking this in jest, but one really has to wonder.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 21, 2010 at 2351 hrs


  5. Has anyone ever known Teddy to leave a bottle of cognac half full?

    Posted by Owen on January 22, 2010 at 0709 hrs


  6. 5.Has anyone ever known Teddy to leave a bottle of cognac half full?

    That was the ‘in jest’ part.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 22, 2010 at 0841 hrs


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