An evening devoted to the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe with actor Stephen Smith, and Enrica Jang, Director of the Edgar Allan Poe House.
Visiting from Baltimore, MD (USA), Enrica Jang, Director of the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, and London-based actor Stephen Smith lead an evening devoted to the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe.
Together, they explore Poe’s restless life, the many theories surrounding his strange and still-debated death, and the enduring pull of his writing. Stephen Smith’s acclaimed One Man Poe performances, which have captivated audiences worldwide including at the Edinburgh Fringe and The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival, anchor the evening with intimate dramatic readings from Poe’s poetry and prose.
Presented as part of a wider traveling series with Poe Baltimore, this London gathering offers a rare opportunity to spend time in conversation with the Director of Poe’s Baltimore home and to hear what is stirring next there, including plans for the museum’s historic expansion.
Tickets are limited. One drink is included. Each guest will also receive a small gift from the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore.
NOTE: The evening event follows a 2:00 PM talk “The Rudge and the Raven: Charles Dickens and Edgar Allan Poe” at the Charles Dickens Museum. That earlier event is free with paid admission to the museum. Details here.
Excerpts from our July session of the Virginia Poe Bicentennial Discussion Series. The strange after-lives of Edgar & Virginia Poe, plus rites and traditional feminine in 19th century America. If you enjoy this presentation, look for more sessions in this year’s poetical series from Poe Baltimore.
Overview: Enrica Jang, Director of The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore, provides an overview of the strange afterlives of Virginia Clemm to her cousin, Edgar Allan Poe.
Act I: Fascinating Women Buried in Baltimore
Kathy Santora and Kalin Thomas look at the lives of women buried in Westminster Burying Ground as well as in Green Mount, Loudon Park, Mt. Auburn, and New Cathedral cemeteries, and how these individuals shaped the city today.
Act II: The Art of Mourning
Hayden Peters of ArtOfMourning.com discusses mourning customs in Virginia Poe’s day. The cost of fashionable mourning was almost as high as the loss of a loved one and the requirements of mourning costume and jewels led families into debt. Learn how these customs became part of 19th century family behavior and how influential women led to its decline.
Act III: Mourning, A Perpetual State
The potential for mourning is endless, perhaps because, being human, we know our time is finite. Virginia Crawford shares how mourning spurs her to write, with poetry from her book, “Questions for Water,” and “The Conqueror Worm” by Edgar Allan Poe.
This is the seventh and final pre-recorded discussion in this series for the Virginia Poe Bicentennial. The Virginia Poe Bicentennial is presented by Poe Baltimore, Westminster Hall & Burying Ground, Maryland Women’s Heritage Center, the Poe Cottage at Fordham (Bronx, NYC,) with generous help and participation from Poe Studies Association, The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore and The Poe Museum (Richmond.)
