EDGAR ALLAN POE AND THE GOTHIC TRADITION

Hello Everyone,

This evening, I spent a wonderful hour at the Hallett Cove Library, learning more about the life of the American writer, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). Thanks to James, from Reading Companions, for his stirring rendition of Poe’s famous poem, ‘The Raven,’ which was the poem that thrust Poe into the spotlight in January, 1845. Perhaps the sense of drama captured in the poem was a sensitivity gained from his parents who were both itinerant actors. The gothic tone and ominous atmosphere reminded me very strongly of Coleridge’s ‘Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner,’ even the focus on the bird, albeit a raven not an albatross.

I really appreciated the background information about Poe’s life and character. One sentence from the letter to his friend, George Eveleth, captured his troubled life with terrible honesty: ‘I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.’ No. He wasn’t trying to be clever, or satirical. Sadly, he was merely stating a fact, admitting that alcohol had overtaken his good health at the same time as he was struggling to accept the death of his wife. Moreover, he confided in his friend that he felt constrained and controlled by his publisher and was determined to free himself of this subjugation, telling Eveleth: ‘I am resolved to be my own publisher.’

It was fascinating to find out more about this poet, as I had never studied his works, or taken the time to become familiar with them. Thank you so much to James for bringing Edgar Allan Poe to my attention . . . and also for his marvellous reading of ‘Clancy of the Overflow’ as an example of another trochaic octameter, using internal rhyme to create the meter. It was a splendid presentation and James was also very willing to engage us all in conversation about the text, making connections with ‘Lenore’ as well as gothic novels which share the same eerie, mysterious − and often macabre − characteristics as Poe’s famous poem. I came home with three books, from Ann Radcliffe’s classic, A Sicilian Romance, to the fresh-off-the-press novels, Echolalia, by Briohny Doyle and Sargasso, by Kathy George. Thanks to Andrea Parker for kindly finding a wide selection of texts in the gothic style and displaying them for us to snatch up and devour over the next few weeks. Look out for James’s readings and also the extensive workshops available at any of the Marion Council libraries. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend an hour or two on a glorious summer evening!

My very best wishes,

Julie