Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). Photo: William S. Hartshorn.
Happy Birthday Edgar Allan Poe! Born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Poe’s short life was filled with hardship and tragedy yet he became one of the most famous and influential writers in American literature. The master of the macabre wrote dozens of short stories and poems (The Cask of Amontillado, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven) and is credited with writing the first detective story (The Murders in the Rue Morgue in 1841). Today fans will gather at his grave in Baltimore to recite his work and no doubt make a toast or two in his honour.
While I enjoy his writing, Poe is important to me for another reason—I named my tuxedo cat after him and therefore spend time every day calling out his name.
Today many of Poe's former homes have been restored and turned into museums; I've been to his final New York home in the Bronx (see post here). Sadly, the Boston house in which he was born was torn down in the 1960s and the only tribute to the man is a plaque on a building near the original site.If you're a Poe fan, you might want to check out the efforts of the Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston to have a statue erected in his honour. They are currently selling a limited edition Edgar Allan Poe bobblehead to help raise funds for the project. To find out more about the foundation, visit their site here or visit their facebook page for info on purchasing a bobblehead.
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