At the Edgar Awards on May 1, I was by pure chance seated at the same table with two charming representatives of the mystery world: Jaime Fawcett & Chris Semtner — respectively Executive Director and Curator of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia. I could hardly believe my luck. The Edgars — The Oscars of mystery writing, named after the writer who invented the detective story — and I get to sit with two of the people who know the most about him. I asked them if they would guest blog, and they enthusiastically accepted.
Chris guest-blogged with us last month (May 29).
Today, it's Jamie's turn.
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| Elmira Royster Shelton's Albumen Print Carte de Visite. Elmira was one of Poe's early loves. |
The
Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, tells the story of Poe’s life and
legacy. For over 90 years, hundreds of
thousands of visitors have visited the museum, seeking inspiration and
motivation from the largest collection of Poe memorabilia and manuscripts in
the world. The museum is a popular place
for mystery writers, poets, and academics, including such notables of the past as
Gertrude Stein, Henry Miller and H.P. Lovecraft.
A first edition manuscript of The Purloined Letter from the museum's collection.
Poe is easily one of the most recognizable authors in the literary world. As an iconic image, admirers feel they “know Poe”.
What we find, in fact, is that most visitors are originally attracted by Poe’s dark caricature. Popular culture has portrayed Poe in hues of black, purple, and gray, while images of sinister black cats and dilapidated mansions usually fill the mind’s eye.
Certainly
Poe’s real-life circumstances lend themselves to gloomy interpretation. To say Poe led a difficult life is an
understatement. He was orphaned at three
years old. He lost his mother, foster
mother, brother and wife to tuberculosis.
He was in constant financial distress.
He even died in tragic and
mysterious circumstances, adding an ironic end for the Master of Macabre.
But
as visitors to the Poe Museum soon discover, Poe’s historical figure is far
more intricate than Poe’s caricature. To
really understand Poe’s genius, one has to appreciate the balance between
“historical Poe” and “Poe the legend”.
Poe’s
real genius is that he was a brave
writer. Poe explored every human
experience and emotion, and he expressed his observations with such resonance
that his readers are left emotionally immersed in the story.
He
tried to live entirely by his craft, though he was largely unsuccessful due to
the lack of international copyright laws.
Of
Poe’s 70 short stories, only 15 actually fit into the gothic horror genre upon
which his caricature is based. Often
drawing on current events and scientific achievements of the time, Poe pushed
the boundaries of 19th century literature into the arenas of detective fiction,
natural science, satire, and science fiction.
The
Poe Museum’s Memorial Building is dedicated to Poe’s writing legacy. Copies of first editions and manuscripts are
on display, and visitors can explore the variety of Poe’s influence in American
literature in depth.
One
exhibit explores Poe’s influence as the Father of the Detective Story. Through his character, the amateur detective
C. Auguste Dupin, Poe introduced new methods of analysis and deduction. Calling it “ratiocination,” Dupin creatively
solves crimes by putting himself in the mind of the criminal in a series short
stories, “The Mystery of Marie Roget,”
“Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and the “The Purloined Letter.”
This
innovative technique laid the groundwork for the detective fiction genre we
know today. Arthur Conan Doyle, creator
of Sherlock Holmes, credited Poe as a writing inspiration – and Poe even earns
a mention in Conan Doyle’s A Study in
Scarlet.
To
round out Poe as a historical figure, Poe’s clothing, trunk, and walking stick
are also on display, providing guests with a sense of who Poe truly was. 
The Poe Museum is the perfect place for the
aspiring mystery writer. Find your own
literary inspiration at the Poe Museum this summer. Check out our website at http://www.poemuseum.org.
Virginia’s first literary museum, the Poe Shrine (the original name of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum) opened in 1922 with a weekend of events held in what was then its newly planted Enchanted Garden. Two years later, the Poe Shrine commissioned the London firm Raphael Tuck and Sons, Publishers to the King and Queen, to immortalize the garden in a series of postcards. The artist S. Shelton produced the series pictured here.
The Garden Club of Virginia has begun a restoration of the Enchanted Garden based on these cards.
Virginia’s first literary museum, the Poe Shrine (the original name of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum) opened in 1922 with a weekend of events held in what was then its newly planted Enchanted Garden. Two years later, the Poe Shrine commissioned the London firm Raphael Tuck and Sons, Publishers to the King and Queen, to immortalize the garden in a series of postcards. The artist S. Shelton produced the series pictured here.
The Garden Club of Virginia has begun a restoration of the Enchanted Garden based on these cards.
Jaime at the Edgars with Dan Stashower, who won an Edgar Award that night for Best Fact Crime for The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War
Sheila York
Copyright 2014
What a great place to visit!! It certainly trumps the Poe Cottage in the Bronx.
ReplyDeleteThere is a genial rivalry between Baltimore and Philadelphia (also home of a Poe House) over where Edgar should rightfully be buried. I believe it's raised money for both city libraries. On at least one occasion someone from Philadelphia visited Baltimore with the tools to dig up the body.
ReplyDeleteSteph
I can't wait to see how the restoration of the Enchanted Garden turns out. I'm asking Chris and Jaime to keep us posted. People are so fascinated by Poe. Threatening to abscond with his body (if only in jest); apparently people pay homage by visiting the grave and 'sharing' booze with him. Given that drink likely contributed strongly to his early death, that seems both macabre and appropriate. So much talent, so much tragedy.
ReplyDeleteWell there was a person who used to leave roses and a bottle of brandy at his grave. I can't remember if this was on his birthday or his deathday, but people on the lookout never saw anyone. The roses and liquor stopped in the last few years so persumably the person who paid homage is not in a position to do so any longer. I can't someone else hasn't take up the torch (or the snifter)
ReplyDeleteSteph