“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 Baltimore wish to thank all of you, Poe Nation, for your support and shared love of poetry, literature, and history. As we continue our 10-year retrospective of programming highlights in the Poe Baltimore yearbook, it’s clear that all we have accomplished–and all that we dream to do–only happens with the continued support of our patrons, donors, volunteers, and friends. However you contribute to our mission, past, present or future, Poe Baltimore is thankful for YOU.
Happy recognition of the 10th anniversary of our organization’s founding will roll into a jubilant year of commemoration, as 2024 marks the 75th Anniversary of the Poe House & Museum in Baltimore. We look forward to sharing some of the hidden history of Poe House, from its savior from demolition in 1949, to the future of the museum as we look ahead to transformation and expansion. And don’t forget, 2024 is also the 175th Anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s mysterious death in Baltimore, coinciding with the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards.
Get a sneak peek at the coming year’s programming when you donate for Giving Tuesday: ALL purchases and donations in the Poe House online gift shop through December will include a QR code link to a special festival preview and ticket opportunity!
Yours in Poe,
Enrica Jang Director, Poe Baltimore
P.S. Deadline to complete Poe-inspired works for the 2024 Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards is December 31! Like or subscribe to our Facebook and YouTube channel to be notified for the return of our LIVE Q&A and Info sessions.
It’s official: 2023 was the absolute biggest and best Poe Fest International on record! Double the vendors, double the events and tours, nearly 3000 attendees estimated over two days, our biggest crowd yet. All proceeds support the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore. On the 10th aniversary of Poe Baltimore’s stewardship of the museum, thank you to everyone who made this month the biggest POE-tober since our founding.
Couldn’t join us this year? You can still see all the Poe things! Official photos from the street festival and The Black Cat Ball have posted, and for Halloween we will stream The Best of Poe Fest, a compilation of the best events and stage moments from festival weekend. The video also includes the WINNERS of the 2023 Saturday Visiter Awards. Happy Halloween, Poe Nation!
P.S. Deadline for Maryland High School students to enter the YOUNG Saturday Visiter Awards is November 17!
Baltimore, MD, July 31, 2023 – Today, Poe Baltimore, with the support of La Cite Development, announced that they have received a major investment from Wells Fargo Bank to support the Annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards taking place October 7 & 8, 2023. The commitment of $300,000 over a three-year period will provide for the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum’s largest program, keeping the festival a free community event and premier tourist destination for Poe-lovers from all over the world.
“Wells Fargo’s investment to the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival helps to support and maintain an important institution that not only continues Poe’s legacy, it also promotes the significance of education, the arts, and literature. This is a great opportunity for Well Fargo to contribute to the preservation of a literacy heritage for future generations to appreciate and celebrate,” said Wells Fargo Vice President and Senior Social Impact and Sustainability Specialist, Traci N. Horne. “We believe this is an opportunity for Wells Fargo to help bring excitement and legendary entertainment to a city we have supported over the years. Baltimore has been a city where Wells Fargo has been a pillar for many local nonprofit organizations and now the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival can be a part of our legacy that reflects positive impact for our communities.”
The funds for the festival will assist Poe Baltimore in expanding educational components and providing the festival with additional ways in which to partner with the community to promote art, culture, and literacy.
“We are extremely honored to work with the City of Baltimore, Poe Baltimore, and our local partners to help implement our shared vision of making communities stronger and more prosperous,” said Dan Bythewood, La Cité Development’s President. “Equally so, we are thrilled to have worked closely with Wells Fargo in securing this substantial commitment and look forward to continuing our efforts to building a broader, more inclusive neighborhood.”
Enrica Jang, Executive Director for Poe Baltimore, the nonprofit that maintains and interprets The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, says this level of funding from Wells Fargo is transformative: “We are extremely grateful for Wells Fargo’s investment in our vision to highlight Baltimore history, gothic literature and art, as well as educational programming.”
The 6th Annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival is set to take place this Fall, October 7 & 8, 2023. For information about the festival, visit https://poefestinternational.org.
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Poe Baltimore is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization created to fund, maintain and interpret The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, and to celebrate the legacy of one of Baltimore’s most famous residents. The organization is dedicated to maintaining the museum as a vibrant experience for the thousands of visitors who come from around the world each year, and as part of a broader mission of city-wide events and educational opportunities celebrating Poe’s legacy in Baltimore and beyond.
Poe Fest Int’l Tickets On Sale July 1!
We’ve been a little quiet the last two months, preparing for a very, very big announcement about the future of The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum. Final details remain a tantalizing distance away, but I can assure you we are looking forward to a very exciting festival season and anouncements in the coming weeks. Click to watch our sizzle reel!
Festival weekend event tickets, Black Cat Ball, and Poe House tours go on sale to the public when the clock strikeds midnight July 1. But all you really have to do is SAVE THE DATE: Poe Fest International is for everyone, October 7-8, and General Admission is FREE! Click to read this month’s newsletter.
Yours in Poe,
Enrica Jang
Director, Poe Baltimore
Goodness! Keeping time, time, time is a task as Poe House is looking ahead to several wonderful events this month. To wit:
March 16, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra invites Poe fans to an open rehearsal of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s adaptation of Poe’s last poem, “The Bells”
March 30, Join us online with 92Y New York’s Roundtable.org for a virtual course about the hidden histories of women in the Poe family.
Not fast enough for you? Snapping at the heels of March, you can expect several April 1 announcements, including the return of Edgar Allan Poe’s Death in Baltimore Bus Tours and Pavers for Poe Fest International Pre-Sales! Follow us on socials or watch PoeBaltimore.org for upcoming details.
Edgar Allan Poe is without doubt one of the most beloved writers in the world, but there are only a few people who can rightly claim they love Poe the most: our volunteers! Over the last decade as stewards of The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore it has been our honor to work with individuals who gift their time to help us preserve Poe’s legacy. Without pay (and sometimes only half a second to grab a quick bite to eat before our next tour or program) volunteers have worked countless hours to keep Poe’s chamber door open to visitors and ensure our mission’s success. This month’s page from the Poe House Yearbook is a valentine for their work, and invitation to our Poe Nation to join us in the coming year. Volunteer at Poe House and Poe Fest International in 2023!
Of course, love is on all our minds. Still in need of a gift for your Poe lover? We recently announced the return of Edgar Allan Poe’s Death in Baltimore Bus Tours. Poe Baltimore is also partnering with New York’s 92Y Roundtable.org for a series of virtual courses. And of course, Poe House offers tours weekly and tickets can be purchased on our website now. Printouts have saved more than one V-day at my house, just sayin’… (un)Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
Yours in Poe, Enrica Jang Director, Poe Baltimore
P.S. Next month we’ll announce our slate of judges for the 2023 Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards. In case you didn’t know, call for entries is open now!
New beginnings are always “dreamy.” And 2023 is truly a dream come true for our Board and Staff as Poe Baltimore celebrates its tenth year as stewards of The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum. Beginning this month we will share pages from our Poe House Yearbook, highlighting some of our best memories of the past decade even as we look ahead to exciting events and programs in the New Year.
Besides, January is always thrilling in Poe-land: (un)Happy Birthday to Edgar Allan Poe! Festivities will kick-off in Baltimore on January 19th for our Poe Birthday Celebration & Poe Toaster Murder Mystery at Westminster Hall. Stay for the Poe Mystery Weekend at The Lord Baltimore Hotel, or travel with me to other “Poe Places” in New York and Richmond as we celebrate Poe’s 214th: our Poe Death Exhibit will be part of the weekend celebrations in both cities and we’ll even be streaming live from The Poe Cottage on Saturday to share a toast to Poe! We look forward to seeing you at these Poe events–and of course, Poe House!–very soon. Read our newsletter to learn more!
Yours in Poe,
Enrica Jang Director, Poe Baltimore
P.S. Call for entries for the 2023 Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards opens at midnight, January 19!
2022 Poe Baltimore & The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum Year-In-Review
We can all go back to cold and melancholy when it’s over, but for now we wish our Poe-nation friends and family a warm, happy holiday. May it be filled with love and poetry.
CLICK HERE to read about upcoming events at Poe House, holiday schedules, and the Official 2022-23 Young Saturday Visiter Nominees.
2022 continues to be an historic year for programs at Poe House: on the heels of our most successful International Edgar Allan Poe Festival to date, we will wrap up the Virginia Poe Bicentennial year with two more sessions from the discussion series, to stream on our Facebook & YouTube pages.
If you have enjoyed this year’s poetical offerings from Poe Baltimore, please consider the following options to support The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore–some of them cost nothing!
List Poe Baltimore (501c3) as your non-profit of choice for Giving Tuesday, Holiday, and End-of-year giving.One-time and monthly donations will help us keep Poe’s chamber door open to visitors. (Yes! We ARE on Facebook!)
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Our goal before December 31 is 1000 subscribers!
Use Amazon Smile to shop for the holidays and make Poe Baltimore your org of choice: Amazon sets aside a portion of your shopping total as a donation to Poe House with no charge to you!
