“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” — Edgar Allan Poe
We at Poe House remain grateful that in a year of uncertainty (and year-two of pandemic) we have found surcease of sorrow together with a fair litany of programs and events. What is our mission if not to celebrate and find catharsis in art and the literary legacy that Poe House represents? We give thanks this and every year to the thousands of Poe House guests and festival attendees, in person and online: it is with your continued support that Poe Baltimore keeps Edgar’s chamber door open to visitors.
P.S. Next month’s newsletter is meant to tantalize with a look ahead to programs in 2022, including the return of PoeZella and Poe’s Death in Baltimore Bus Tours, the Saturday Visiter Awards call for entries, and the planned year-long celebration of the Virginia Poe Bicentennial.
The 2021 International Edgar Allan Poe Festival was a smashing success–and we mean it literally: this year’s crowd estimate of over two thousand people exceeded even pre-pandemic numbers, and this doesn’t include the thousands of viewers who tuned in to our virtual program on Facebook and YouTube Live from all over the Poe world. In a year of continuing uncertainty and trepidation, we were thrilled to see the return of so many. Winners of the 2021 Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards were announced festival weekend and we look forward to sharing more of their work with you in the coming year.
A very big thank you to all attendees, viewers, sponsors, vendors, volunteers and staff for continuing our mission and helping us to commemorate the anniversary of Poe’s death in Baltimore. Poe Fest International will return in 2022!
The revelries haven’t ended. Three nominees for the first Young SVAs have been notified and the winner will be announced together with a streamed encore presentation of the Best of Poe Fest International on Facebook & YoutTube Live October 30. And our Poe Death Exhibit is going on tour! See the installation at the Laurel Museum Halloween weekend and through next month. Read the latest newsletter about these and other events here. An (un)happy Poe-tober to all!
The festival is a FREE, family-friendly, two-day outdoor event.2021 Poe Festival Int’l is October 2 & 3, 2021, from 11AM to 4PM each day.
2. There will also be a virtual program
We are very pleased that the live event can return, but a virtual program is also planned for those who cannot yet travel to Baltimore! Watch livestreamed events on Facebook Live, YouTube Live and Twitch all day long, Saturday & Sunday festival weekend, or sign up for Virtual Tours.
3. Stage Program posts September 1
Live performances are planned on the festival main stage at Poe Fest Int’l—music, dramatic readings of Poe’s works, original theatrical performances. We are welcoming back several theater troupes and performers from previous years, as well as new acts!
4. Tour tickets have sold out in previous years, so get your tickets early!
Additional events festival weekend are ongoing at locations away from festival grounds. VIP ticketed tour options are available, including:
“Death Weekend” Bus Tour, $59. Includes several stops around the city of Baltimore, exploring the mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore. This tour includes the “Poe in Film & Fashion” Exhibit at 1840s Plaza!
Tours of Poe House require tickets and are not included with admission to the festival. This precious historic site is very small; tickets are limited so that we may protect and preserve the house for future generations to enjoy and study. Virtual tours are available with the Virtual Festival Pass.
6. Attendees enjoy special rates at the Lord Baltimore Hotel
7. Bus lines bring you to Poe Fest Int’l, including the Charm City Circulator (free)
The Charm City Circulator will bring you to Poppleton and Baltimore Streets, three blocks from the festival.
Lyft, Uber and other rideshare services, use the intersection of W. Lexington & Schroeder Streets for drop-off/pickup.
Limited Street parking is available. Paid parking in a secure garage is the corner of Poppleton & Baltimore Street, three blocks from Poe House.
8. The Black Cat Ball is the Official Party of the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards.
The Black Cat Ball is the Official Party of the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards. This year’s Black Cat Ball is a Hollywood Gothic theme, featuring performances in the 1840s Plaza Cabaret plus after-hours access to the “Poe in Film & Fashion” Exhibit and a cognac toast to Edgar Allan Poe! Your most glamorous and gothic costumes encouraged. Ticket is all-inclusive food, beer & wine plus specialty cocktails, and entertainment, $135 per person. Sorry, this party is 21 and over only; 100% ID check!
(LIMITED VIP Black Cat Ball package includes a private performance and séance at the historic Carroll Mansion.)
9. The Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards Winners will be announced festival weekend.
Winners of the Saturday Visiter Awards, an honor recognizing a new generation of artists & writers inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, will be announced at the Black Cat Ball! Meet the nominees at the festival, then join us the night of October 2nd as we toast the 2021 winners!
10. This festival includes programming from preeminent “Poe Places.”
This festival includes programming from other “Poe Places” around the United States, including The Poe Museum (Richmond,)The Poe Cottage (NYC,) The Poe Studies Association, The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, Westminster Hall & Burial Ground (Baltimore,)The United States Military Academy at West Point, and The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum (Baltimore.)
We’ll continue to bring you new about this event as we count down to Poe Fest Int’l. It’s a momentous time, and we don’t want you to miss anything!
P.S. Marylanders! Don’t forget that call for entries is ongoing for the Young Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards, sponsored by the Baltimore National Heritage Area, recognizing High School students in Maryland who create artistic works inspired by Edgar Allan Poe.Spread the word!
Poe Fest International returns to Poe House, October 2 & 3, 2021! Ticketed event details at PoeFestInternational.Eventbrite.com.
Poe Baltimore invites you to darken Poe’s chamber door at the fourth annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival and Awards, October 2 & 3, 2021. This FREE, two-day outdoor event will feature Poe-themed performances, art, vendors and food, celebrating Poe’s life, works and his influence in the arts.
The festival will take place directly across the street from Poe House at 203 N. Amity Street in Baltimore, in the newly-built “Poe Park” at Center/West. Attendees will learn about Poe’s life and works from some of the United States’ preeminent “Poe Places”, with representatives from The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum (Baltimore), The Poe Museum (Richmond, Virginia), The Poe Cottage (Bronx, NYC), The Poe Studies Association, The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore and Westminster Hall & Burying Ground. The winners of the 2021 Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards will also be announced festival weekend!
***COVID-19 UPDATE: 2021 will see the return of in-person stage, vendors and tours, all proceeds to benefit The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore. Of course, our soul from out pandemic’s shadow has not yet lifted, so expect both virtual and in-person program announcements as we proceed this year. Our aim is to make this death commemoration as lively (and safe!) as possible.***
October 2 & 3 is “Death Weekend”, commemorating the 172nd anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s death in Baltimore. Visit PoeFestInternational.org for more vendors and program details/schedule.
Admission to Poe Fest International is FREE. Tours inside the Edgar Allan Poe House and additional exhibits at 1840s Plaza are not included as part of the general festival program and require paid tickets. To be sure you get in to see these precious landmarks, check out the ticketed options below–for those who cannot attend in-person, virtual and streaming events are also available:
Death Weekend ‘Poe Places’ Bus Tour
Explore the enduring mystery surrounding Poe’s tragic death on a special Death Weekend Live Virtual Tour of Poe’s Baltimore. The 2-hour tour ticket includes stops at four important Poe Places around Baltimore, including the sites where Poe was found and passed away, Poe’s graves at Westminster Hall & Burial Ground, and scenes from a special re-enactment of Edgar Allan Poe’s first funeral. This ticket also includes access to our NEW “Poe in Film & Fashion” Exhibit at 1840s Plaza and the historic Carroll Mansion! NOTE: Death and funeral imagery (including body in an open casket), may not be suitable for young children. Viewer discretion advised.
The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum
Crowds will gather at the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival October 2 & 3, and Poe House will only be open to visitors for timed-ticket tours. Your ticket entitles you to “express entry” and includes a tour of the historic Edgar Allan Poe House, plus readings by a very special un-dead mystery guest. Additional souvenir brochure with Mobile App and Cell Phone guide to “Poe’s Baltimore” available.
The Edgar Allan Poe Film & Fashion Exhibit (NEW for 2021!)
Presented by Poe Baltimore at 1840s Plaza, this NEW “Poe in Film & Fashion” exhibit explores the ways in which Edgar Allan Poe’s life and works continue to inspire and shape popular culture. Learn of the mysterious circumstances of Poe’s death in Baltimore in 1849 and how the very clothes in which he was found are a tantalizing clue to the mystery of his final days. Next, explore the living arts of fashion and costume in recent films that adapt Poe’s life or works, and the aesthetics at play in how Poe is interpreted for modern audiences. A mobile app and live guide are included to answer your questions!
This exhibit includes costumes from recent film & television programs, including Altered Carbon starring Chris Conner as Poe on Netflix/ Skydance, and a special sneak peek at production and costume details from 3 Days Rising, a new movie adaptation of Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher,” starring Peter Greene, Ice-T, Mickey Rourke and Frank Whaley.
NOTE: Death and funeral imagery (including body in an open casket), may not be suitable for young children. Viewer discretion advised. This exhibit takes place at location away from Festival Grounds; limited street parking and garage parking is available. This is a ticketed event; timed entry guarantees admission.
Exhibits by:
Poe Baltimore, The Poe Museum (Richmond VA), The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, Charles Wissinger, Craig Cukrowski & Derek Cukrowski, Eric Stange & Spy Pond Productions, Thad & Season Ciechanowski, Poe Movies, Christopher Schafer Clothier, Jason Strutz Illustration, Jericho Vinegar Works, Roger Miller, Kenny Epps & The Baltimore Camera Club.
NOTE TO POE FESTIVAL ATTENDEES: The exhibit is staged at a location away from festival grounds. 1840s Plaza is at 29 S. Front Street, roughly three miles from Poe House. Paid parking available at Inner Harbor Park Garage, 751 E. Lombard Street, or 815 E. Pratt St. Garage.
And once night descends upon the City, the cats to come out to play:
The Black Cat Ball: Hollywood Gothic at 1840s Plaza
The Black Cat Ball : Hollywood Gothic at 1840s Plaza is the Official Party for The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards, Saturday, October 2nd. Doors open 7:30 PM (VIP 7:00 PM) Dress to impress and walk our Gothic Red Carpet!
Join us for a Gothic Hollywood-themed masquerade of the senses as we dance into the night, explore a garden of culinary delicacies, then raise a glass to the inimitable Edgar Allan Poe! Guests will enjoy passed hors d’oeuvres and specialty cocktails while they peruse the “Edgar Allan Poe Film & Fashion Exhibit” featuring costumes from the latest and upcoming adaptations of Poe’s works in film & television.
Tickets are all-inclusive for food, beer/ wine/ signature cocktails, and entertainment, including:
Private Viewing & Reception at “The Edgar Allan Poe Film & Fashion” Exhibit
Winners of the 2021 Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards, presented by author Rafael Alvarez
Cognac toast to Edgar Allan Poe
And of course… stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe!
This party is 21+ over restricted; 100% ID Check!
LIMITED EXCLUSIVE VIP packages also available; includes early entry, plus a private performance and seance at the historic Carroll Mansion! Featuring the National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre’s Alex Zavistovich, The Undead Edgar, and Evening Crane Theatre.
NOTE TO POE FESTIVAL ATTENDEES: The party takes place at a location away from festival grounds. 1840s Plaza is at 29 S. Front Street, roughly three miles from Poe House. Paid parking available at Inner Harbor Park Garage, 751 E. Lombard Street, or 815 E. Pratt St. Garage.
For those who cannot attend the festival in person, the Poe Fest International Virtual Festival Pass includes all three of our tours and exhibits, presented LIVE online!
Virtual Festival Pass
This is your all-access pass to live virtual events festival weekend! Watch our streaming program on Facebook Live and YouTube Live for FREE. Want more? Purchase a Virtual Festival Pass and join live webinars via Zoom using your own mobile device or computer at home.
The Poe Fest Int’l Virtual Festival Pass includes three virtual tours: Virtual Tour of the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, the Edgar Allan Poe’s Death in Baltimore Virtual Tour, and the Edgar Allan Poe in Film & Fashion Virtual Exhibit. These interactive webinars are guided tours led by LIVE museum docents. $25 includes ALL virtual tours, all weekend long! Join either or both days.The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards is made possible by grant funding from Visit Baltimore, Maryland Heritage Areas Authority & The Baltimore National Heritage Area, Maryland Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities #MDHumanities. Sponsorship, programs and volunteers by Poe Baltimore, La Cite LLC & Center/West, The Lord Baltimore Hotel, Poe’s Magic Theater, University of Maryland Carey Law School Westminster Hall & Burying Ground, The Poe Museum (Richmond), The Enoch Pratt Free Library, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre, Other World Theatre, National Cryptologic Museum, Susan Jaffe Tane and RavenBeer.
Given the new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the condition of our location, the historic site that comprises the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum at 203 N. Amity Street will continue to observe mask and social-distancing. Poe House is only 620-square feet, and the house (built in 1832) does not have a modern ventilation system. For these reasons, and given the volume of visitors from around the country (and the world) with varying rates of vaccination, Poe House is still implementing the following protocols for the safety of our attendees, staff and volunteers.
Poe House is OPEN for tours every Thursday thru Sunday from 11AM to 4PM (please check our events calendar for inclement weather closures or special events.) Reservations are REQUIRED. While the indoor mask mandate has been lifted for Baltimore City, Poe House also REQUIRES face masks for all attendees entering the historic site for reasons of ventilation and space.
Before booking a tour, please read the following:
Reservations are now required to enter Poe House. (See the links above to visit the ticketing site.) Walk-ups are not permitted.
Face-coverings over nose and mouth (i.e. masks) are required for the duration of your visit, regardless of vaccination status.
Upon arriving at Poe House, guests will be asked to line up outside to await entry to Poe House. Please observe expected weather conditions and bring proper cover on days of high heat or precipitation. All members of your party must be present before entry.
Visitors inside Poe House are limited to no more than TEN (10) people at a time. Larger parties must book additional tour times, with each tour limited to no more than ten individuals, including small children. Rotating entry is NOT permitted and will result in your tour being ended without refund.
Re-entry is not permitted.
Staff will break intermittently to re-sanitize handrails, doorknobs, and other surfaces in the House. Guests may experience wait times between entries.
Walk-ups are not permitted, including to individuals who wish to only peruse the gift shop. Please visit our online store for purchases.
House staff and volunteers have been advised to follow all health protocols provided by the Centers for Disease Control, the State of Maryland and the City of Baltimore, and to stay at home if they have any flu-like symptoms. In the event of emergency absence of key personnel, Poe House may be closed without prior warning. We will update the website and social media as soon as we learn of pending closure; all reserved tours will be notified before their visit.
We continue to monitor www.cdc.gov, www.maryland.gov, and baltimorecity.gov for guidance. Poe Baltimore programming continues and there are no other schedule changes or canceled events at this time. Thank you for supporting Poe Baltimore/ The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum.
Poe House is OPEN for tours every Thursday thru Sunday from 11AM to 4PM (please check our events calendar for inclement weather closures or special events.)
Reservations are REQUIRED. Poe House will continue to require face masks as a condition for entry to the historic site for reasons of ventilation and space.
Poe Baltimore has implemented the following procedures to keep house operations ongoing and safe. We ask for your patience and compliance for your own safety as well as for our staff and volunteers:
Reservations are now required to enter Poe House. (See the links above to visit the ticketing site.) Walk-ups are not permitted.
Face-coverings over nose and mouth (i.e. masks) are still requiredfor the duration of your visit, regardless of vaccination status. There are no exceptions. Mesh materials, vented masks and/or face shields do not meet our standard for face-covering and will not serve in lieu of proper attire. Should staff determine your mask does not meet our standard, a guest may be denied entry and turned away without refund.
Upon arriving at Poe House, guests will be asked to line up outside to await entry to Poe House. All members of your party must be present before entry.
Visitors inside Poe House will be limited to no more than SIX (6) people at a time. Larger parties must book additional tour times, with each tour limited to no more than six individuals, including small children.
Re-entry is not permitted.
Staff will break intermittently to re-sanitize handrails, doorknobs, and other surfaces in the House. Guests may experience wait times between entries.
House staff and volunteers have been advised to follow all health protocols provided by the Centers for Disease Control, the State of Maryland and the City of Baltimore, and to stay at home if they have any flu-like symptoms. In the event of emergency absence of key personnel, Poe House may be closed without prior warning. We will update the website and social media as soon as we learn of pending closure; all reserved tours will be notified before their visit.
Our hope is that austere measures will only be needed for a short time, and we continue to monitor www.cdc.gov, www.maryland.gov, and baltimorecity.gov for guidance. Poe Baltimore programming continues and there are no other schedule changes or canceled events at this time. Thank you for supporting Poe Baltimore/ The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum.
Enrica Jang Director, Poe Baltimore
The 2020 International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards is streaming LIVE the weekend of October 3 & 4th, commemorating the 171st anniversary of Poe’s Death in Baltimore. Watch for FREE on Facebook & YouTube Live.
Streaming program for Saturday & Sunday has posted! A coffin-building workshop. A POE-vid mask tutorial. A Tell-Tale Heart Interactive mock trial. Art demos, theatrical performances, secret codes, even a special Sunday Brunch with Edgar Allan Poe’s mother (the woman is dead, but that shouldn’t spoil brunch.) See our list of events right here. More details added as we get closer to DEATH WEEKEND.
Add-on experiences also available, including the Poe in Film & Fashion Virtual Exhibit, NEW this year in addition to Virtual Tours of the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, and the Death Weekend Poe Places Virtual Tour of Poe’s Baltimore.
Due to the COVID-19 Health Emergency, The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum suffered closure for several months earlier in the year. Like many other organization, Poe suffered a devastating loss in operating and programming funds due to this loss of revenue. For this reason, Poe Baltimore is grateful to be one of 100 recipients of Maryland Humanities CARES Act Emergency Grants. The purpose of the grants, from their site:
“As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which became law on March 27, 2020, the National Endowment for the Humanities received $75 million to protect at-risk humanities positions and projects at museums, libraries and archives, historic sites, colleges and universities, and other cultural nonprofits that have been financially impacted by the coronavirus. Of that total, $30 million was distributed to Maryland Humanities and our 55 sister state and territorial councils for emergency grantmaking to the public humanities community.
The goal of this new fund—our $515,000 CARES Act Emergency Relief Grants Fund—is to help sustain Maryland’s infrastructure to ensure that organizations can continue to provide opportunities for public humanities programming and civic learning in Maryland’s diverse communities during this unprecedented time. Grants will support nonprofit general operating expenses. Eligible nonprofit organizations include: museums, historic sites, preservation and historical societies, and community and cultural organizations with a significant humanities focus.
We accepted applications to the Fund from May 1 through May 11, which were then screened for eligibility. Ultimately 119 applications were reviewed by members of our Grants Committee with a focus on both need and geographic location in an effort to disperse funds to all regions of the state. One hundred awards of $5,150 each were approved, and all applicants were notified on May 29.
As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which became law on March 27, 2020, the National Endowment for the Humanities received $75 million to protect at-risk humanities positions and projects at museums, libraries and archives, historic sites, colleges and universities, and other cultural nonprofits that have been financially impacted by the coronavirus. Of that total, $30 million was distributed to Maryland Humanities and our 55 sister state and territorial councils for emergency grantmaking to the public humanities community.
The goal of this new fund—our $515,000 CARES Act Emergency Relief Grants Fund—is to help sustain Maryland’s infrastructure to ensure that organizations can continue to provide opportunities for public humanities programming and civic learning in Maryland’s diverse communities during this unprecedented time. Grants will support nonprofit general operating expenses. Eligible nonprofit organizations include: museums, historic sites, preservation and historical societies, and community and cultural organizations with a significant humanities focus.
https://www.mdhumanities.org/grants/cares/
The Emergency CARES Act grant gave us much-needed funding to continue virtual programming to keep Poe’s chamber door open online and augment loss from closure. We thank the Maryland Humanities council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and look forward to presenting more virtual programs through the rest of this year.
Poe Baltimore’s mission is to celebrate Edgar Allan Poe’s legacy, a man at times unfairly maligned, at other times fairly taken to task for his faults. As good stewards of history, we must be uncompromising about the truth: about Poe, about ourselves, and about our American story.
203 N. Amity Street was established as a house museum and shrine to Edgar Allan Poe in 1949. We are an active and important cultural highlight in the Poppleton neighborhood of West Baltimore. And while we are a federally designated National Historic Landmark, the raw physical truth remains that Poe House is a small 620 square-foot remnant of a house that was built in the 1800s. The museum could not have survived for nearly 75 years without the care and regard for history that the members of this predominantly Black community have shown. Neighbors see wandering tourists and lead them to our door. Children playing with their friends outdoors helpfully point people our way. Black and minority individuals are the majority corps of Urban Rangers who lead tours at Poe House.
As an organization, Poe Baltimore supports our neighbors and fellow citizens as they support the museum in our care. We owe nothing less than an unequivocal statement against racism in any form, and specifically racism against Black people. Black Lives Matter. There is no place for racism or hate in any community. We stand with Poppleton in the beautiful City of Baltimore and commit to work together to turn the page on a new chapter for our city and country.
To preserve public safety in response to COVID-19 (aka Corona Virus), and by order of the State of Maryland, The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum mirrors State and City Government protocols. To that end, Poe House is CLOSED to visitors for the month of April.
We ask for your patience during this time. We will update the website and social media if we learn that circumstances change. Please check PoeBaltimore.org before visiting Poe House.
We continue to monitor www.cdc.gov, www.maryland.gov, and baltimorecity.gov for guidance. Poe Baltimore programming work continues; there are no other schedule changes or canceled events at this time. Thank you for supporting Poe Baltimore/ The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum.
