Nomadic EDGAR ALLAN POEtry Event: Tony Tsendeas with “The Black Cat”
About this event:
Tony Tsendeas with “The Black Cat”
October 8: @ Poe’s Grave, Westminster Burial Ground, The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum
The acclaimed actor, Tony Tsendeas will interpret The Black Cat (one of Poe’s darkest tales) and may well expose aspects of the story you never knew. On this early autumn afternoon, a mere 165 years and one day after Poe’s curious demise, what better way to celebrate our beloved man of mystery and disintegration?
(Rain or shine, meet at noon at Poe’s Grave at the Westminster Burial Ground,519 West Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD 21201; BYO: umbrella and folding chair if you’d like. To view an interactive map, visit: https://www.poeinbaltimore.org/poe-places/ )
ABOUT THE SERIES:
Between Noon-12:30pm on October 1, 7, 15 & 22, Poe Baltimore will offer Four FreeFall Baltimore Poe Baltimore’s Nomadic EDGAR ALLAN POE-try Events:
Come celebrate Edgar Allan Poe’s dark and fearsome brilliance with four lunchtime events in Poe-appropriate locations across downtown Baltimore.
As part of Free Fall Baltimore, Poe Baltimore has planned four free events at Poe-appropriate sites tied to the famed Edgar Allan Poe. Starting at NOON on the first four Wednesdays in October, you can enjoy free 30-minute special performances/ interpretations of Edgar Allan Poe’s writing as part of FreeFall Baltimore. Each event will take place outdoors (rain or shine—so again, please be POE-like and bring an umbrella if it’s gray and gloomy.)
ABOUT THE SITE:
Location of the Poe Family Plot: Buried in Plot No. 29 are: Edgar’s grandparents David Poe Sr. and Elizabeth Cairnes Poe, and his brother Henry Leonard Poe. In the Northwest corner plot: Edgar Allan Poe, his aunt and mother-in-law Maria Clemm, and his wife Virginia.
Westminster Hall, one of the area’s most intriguing architectural landmarks, is a converted Gothic church built on arches above Westminster Burying Ground, creating catacombs beneath. Edgar Allan Poe, his young wife, and her mother all eventually found their final resting place within Westminster Burying Ground—each having been previously buried elsewhere—as did several early mayors of Baltimore, heroes of the American Revolution and members of the city’s elite.
The church and burying ground are in the care of the Westminster Preservation Trust, Inc., a private, nonprofit organization established in 1977 under the leadership of the University of Maryland School of Law. In 1983, the Trust completed a major project to preserve and restore the site’s historic features and to adapt the church building for contemporary use. Tours of Westminster Burying Ground and Catacombs can be arranged year round with a minimum of 15 people.
Between 1949 and 2009, on the night of the anniversary of Poe’s birth, a mysterious stranger entered this cemetery and left as tribute a partial bottle of cognac and three roses on Poe’s grave. The identity of the stranger, referred to affectionately as the Poe Toaster, is unknown. The significance of cognac is uncertain as it does not feature in Poe’s works as would, for example, amontillado. The presumption for the three roses is that it represents the three persons whose remains are beneath the monument: Poe, his mother-in-law (Maria Clemm) and his wife Virginia. Out of respect, no attempt was made to stop or hinder him. Several of the bottles of cognac from prior years are on display in the Baltimore Poe House and Museum. The Toaster made his last visit in January of 2010, disappearing as mysteriously as he appeared, without explanation.
Free Fall Baltimore is made possible by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and the generous contributions of BGE, The Abell Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, American Trading & Production Corporation (Atapco), The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation, and the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Charitable Funds.
