Jan

18

Once Upon A Midnight Dreary…

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

January 18, 2008 |

Every year in the early hours on the day of January 19th, a mysterious, black-clad figure enters Westminster Hall And Burying Ground in Baltimore, Maryland, goes to the grave of Edgar Allan Poe, raises a cognac toast, and then leaves half a bottle of cognac and three roses. The tradition began in 1949, a little less than a century after Poe’s death in Baltimore on October 7th, 1849. The exact cause of his death remains a mystery, and everything from alcoholism to rabies to a brain tumor has been suggested.

Witnesses have gathered to watch the person known as the Poe Toaster, and there’s even been controversy. In 1999 a note left at the grave stated that the original toaster had died, but the torch had been passed. In subsequent years the new toaster left notes commenting on such events as the 2001 Super Bowl between the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Giants (wrongly predicting the outcome), and, in 2004, criticizing the French. It’s worth noting that, while a lot of American writers and critics have snubbed Poe, critic Jean Richepin said, “It was in France that Poe was soonest and most fully understood.” Stèphane Mallarmè said he learned English “the better to read Poe”, and began making translations of his poems in 1862. Charles Baudelaire, who also translated his work, called Poe “the most powerful writer of the age,” and Paul Valèry said, “Poe is the only impeccable writer.” In 2006 some people tried to disrupt the event, feeling that the new toaster wasn’t treating the tradition with proper respect.

All that aside, what matters is that there is, around both the toaster and Poe himself, a beautiful mystery. Poe’s works live on.

Here’s the impeccable Vincent Price performing my favorite Poe story, The Tell-Tale Heart:

[Act One]

[Act Two]


Comments

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind

<< Post Navigation >>

« « Life In Black And White. | Word Of The Week: January 19, 2008 » »