Edgar Allan Poe
Yesterday, Oct. 7th, was the 158th anniversary of Poe’s death under mysterious circumstances in a city he loved, Baltimore, Maryland. I trekked out from Bethesda and spent an hour at the grave site.
Poe was originally tucked away in the back of the church yard, out of sight and pretty much forgotten. Pretty much. He was in fact remembered and many people, including penny-wielding school children, donated the funds to move him, with his wife and mother, around to a much more prominent spot. My first photo here is the newest grave, and the second is the original site.
I sat for an hour or so… I read Eleonora at his grave and Shadow – A Parable. Shadow opens with these lines: “Ye who read are still among the living / But I who write / Shall have long since gone my way / Into the region of shadows.”
I also took a bunch of photos and sketched the newer of the two grave markers with watercolor pencil. The marker for the original grave was in a spot of retina burning sunlight.
I wasn’t much impressed with Baltimore… but, you know, “If you don’t have anything nice to say…”
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