Edgar Allan Poe

The Edgar Allan Poe house closed it doors today, which could be an ominous sign or a new beginning for the small home where the great American author spent part of his youth. The Baltimore Sun's Chris Kaltenbach writes that the house and museum is supposed to reopen, perhaps as early as next spring, under the management of a new nonprofit called Poe Baltimore. Baltimore officials announced two years ago that they were no longer interested in operating the house, and cut its $85,000 annual operating budget from the city's spending plan, the story notes.

With Valentine's Day approaching, it's a good time to review some of the literary love stories that have been set in Baltimore. In an article in the latest issue of the Sun magazine, reporter Jill Rosen highlights the relationships of H.L. Mencken, Edgar Allan Poe and F. Scott Fitzgerald -- all three of which ended in tragedy. Here are excerpts from that article. -- Sara Powell Haardt ... understood Mencken's commitment to his work. He appreciated her independence. They were two level-headed agnostics who loved Baltimore.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report on Lance Armstrong was involved in doping is loaded with explosive allegations from fellow cyclists -- which the seven-time Tour de France champion has vehemently denied. But the quirkiest bit of information is that at least one rider nicknamed a common performance-enhancing drug for Baltimore's favorite literary son. According to cyclist Christian Vande Velde, riders generally referred to the illegal substance Erythropoietin as EPO, or "Po. " But Tyler Hamilton had his own nickname for it: "Edgar" as in Edgar Allan Poe. Hamilton may be an admitted doper, but at least he's well-read.

Once upon a Sunday, nervous, I sat spectating through my cable service, Wondering why, oh why, the Ravens couldn't score. While I grimaced, quite distraught, suddenly a pass was caught. A breath of life from those once at death's door? "'Tis just a fluke", I said, "a small vict'ry in a losing war. " "Only this, and nothing more. " Ah, distinctly I remember, 'twas well past a cold December, And each playoff weekend became more of a bore. Grumpily I watched my teams, sink like iron ducks it seems, As they flopped and flailed like an ostrich trying to soar.

Mr. Poe, the microphone is yours. A group of selected mediums and psychics will be spending a March weekend trying to reach Edgar Allan Poe, the literary giant and creator of the modern detective story who has made Baltimore his permanent home since 1849. Officials and friends of Baltimore's Poe House and Museum are organizing what is billed as "Beyond Nevermore. " For two days, on March 3 and 4, psychics will gather at Westminster Hall, a former church just yards from Poe's grave, and try to contact the spirit of the dead author.

It couldn't look any less impressive, this pocket-size, 40-page pamphlet self-published by an unidentified Boston author back in 1827. "Tamerlane and Other Poems" sold for $662,500 at Christie's auction house this afternoon in New York, according to Christie's officials. There is no word on the buyer. This collection of poems is the rarest of Edgar Allan Poe memorabilia, a first edition of his first published work. Twelve copies of "Tamerlane and Other Poems," whose author is identified only as "A Bostonian," are known to exist (only 50 were printed)

Bruce Nelson, a longtime Baltimore favorite on the stage, goes macabre for his latest role - the title literary giant in "The Completely Fictional - Utterly True - Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe. " We'll give you a break after reading that. Still with us? The play, running now through Nov. 25 at Center Stage , focuses on Poe's weird (of course) final days before his mysterious death (again, of course) in Baltimore. And since he's playing the rascally Poe, we had some rascally questions of our own. Thankfully, he brought up Poe marrying his teenage cousin on his own. 1. The title of this play is very intriguing and a bit confusing.

No network midseason show has generated more buzz than "The Following," which premieres Monday night on Fox. There are three reasons for that: First, Kevin Bacon is the star, and he's better than most network television actors. Here he plays an angry, burned-out ex-F.B.I. agent with a drinking problem who is called out of retirement when a serial killer escapes from prison. Second, because the serial killer worships Edgar Allan Poe, the series is drenched in all things Poe. Baltimore, being filled with Poe Lovers, is a prime target for the Fox publicity campaign.

Menacing ravens, peering eyes, black cats and rats, ominous bells, violent eddies - imagery that fueled many a text by Edgar Allan Poe, and generated a good deal of art. For its contribution to the bicentennial commemoration of the author's birth, the Baltimore Museum of Art has put together a dynamic collection of works directly or seemingly inspired by the author. The displays are divided into three thematic groupings: Love and Loss, Fear and Terror, Madness and Obsession. "As you can see, this is an uplifting exhibit," says BMA director Doreen Bolger, who curated the show.

A birthday seemed the right occasion to mend some family fences. So last weekend Luke Harvey Poe Jr., a hale 89-year-old who lives in Annapolis and practices law in Washington, rapped on the door of a tiny rowhouse in West Baltimore inhabited by another Poe in another century. Were he still alive, Edgar Allan Poe would celebrate his 196th birthday Wednesday. Harvey Poe's recent visit - his first to the house - was a long-overdue call because, as he recounted, his affluent Richmond relatives considered Edgar Allan Poe a ne'er-do-well.

No network midseason show has generated more buzz than "The Following," which premieres Monday night on Fox. There are three reasons for that: First, Kevin Bacon is the star, and he's better than most network television actors. Here he plays an angry, burned-out ex-F.B.I. agent with a drinking problem who is called out of retirement when a serial killer escapes from prison. Second, because the serial killer worships Edgar Allan Poe, the series is drenched in all things Poe. Baltimore, being filled with Poe Lovers, is a prime target for the Fox publicity campaign.

A shocking and dastardly literary crime has been perpetrated upon a heretofore unsuspecting citizenry. How could you allow The Sun to publish such a travesty about the fictional sleuth Sherlock Holmes ("On the case," Dec. 23)? Contrary to what the writer claims, Sherlock Holmes was not the first consulting detective in modern literature, and Arthur Conan Doyle did not invent the police procedural. In fact, a character named C. Auguste Dupin was on the case nearly five decades before Holmes made his first appearance.

Bruce Nelson, a longtime Baltimore favorite on the stage, goes macabre for his latest role - the title literary giant in "The Completely Fictional - Utterly True - Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allan Poe. " We'll give you a break after reading that. Still with us? The play, running now through Nov. 25 at Center Stage , focuses on Poe's weird (of course) final days before his mysterious death (again, of course) in Baltimore. And since he's playing the rascally Poe, we had some rascally questions of our own. Thankfully, he brought up Poe marrying his teenage cousin on his own. 1. The title of this play is very intriguing and a bit confusing.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report on Lance Armstrong was involved in doping is loaded with explosive allegations from fellow cyclists -- which the seven-time Tour de France champion has vehemently denied. But the quirkiest bit of information is that at least one rider nicknamed a common performance-enhancing drug for Baltimore's favorite literary son. According to cyclist Christian Vande Velde, riders generally referred to the illegal substance Erythropoietin as EPO, or "Po. " But Tyler Hamilton had his own nickname for it: "Edgar" as in Edgar Allan Poe. Hamilton may be an admitted doper, but at least he's well-read.

The financially troubled Edgar Allan Poe House got a lifeline from the city of Baltimore this week,  raising hope that the now-closed historic site can be saved. The city agreed to pay the B&O Railroad Museum $180,000 to develop a plan for the  home/museum to become a self-sufficient tourist attraction. The Baltimore Sun's Chris Kaltenbach wrote: "The overriding idea is to turn the Poe House into a draw that will not only see increased attendance, which has fluctuated between 3,000 and 5,000 annually, but also make Baltimore a destination for Poe enthusiasts.

The Edgar Allan Poe house closed it doors today, which could be an ominous sign or a new beginning for the small home where the great American author spent part of his youth. The Baltimore Sun's Chris Kaltenbach writes that the house and museum is supposed to reopen, perhaps as early as next spring, under the management of a new nonprofit called Poe Baltimore. Baltimore officials announced two years ago that they were no longer interested in operating the house, and cut its $85,000 annual operating budget from the city's spending plan, the story notes.

As a boy, George Figgs was fascinated by the tales of terror crafted a century before by Edgar Allan Poe. As a man, he read everything he could get his hands on by and about the author. And at the age of 40, the same age that Poe died, Figgs quit his job as a bartender and spent 18 months ransacking libraries for every scrap of information about the mysterious events surrounding Poe's death."I found myself in rare book vaults with white cotton gloves on, with letters Poe had written to his mother-in-law, to his sister," says Figgs, 50, the founder of the Orpheum Cinema in Fells Point.

Acity known for a bell that's broken and a delicacy that's Cheez Whiz-ed wants to up its cultural clout - by stealing Edgar Allan Poe from Baltimore. "We're Taking Poe Back," read the headline in Philadelphia's City Paper last week. Arguing that Philly's claim on Poe is greater than Baltimore's, the article urges Philadelphians to "reclaim our macabre, prodigal son" in time for the 2009 bicentennial of Poe's birth. "This is a literary grave robbing," reporter Edward Pettit began. "I want to exhume his body and translate his remains to the City of Brotherly Love.

Baltimore's beleaguered Edgar Allan Poe House will be shutting its doors Friday, with plans to reopen in 2013 under the auspices of a nonprofit group hoping to increase attendance and make the city landmark self-sufficient. The house, which normally closes for the winter in December, could reopen as early as next spring, said Thomas Stosur, director of the city's Department of Planning. Plans for the site are still being formulated by the nonprofit Poe Baltimore, which will oversee the house and work to increase its visibility and viability.

If you're a book-lover and football-lover (there really are a few of us out there), you've gotta love Stevie Baggs of the Baltimore Ravens. The Bethune-Cookman University grad is nicknamed "Shakespeare," because he's known for making plays. For the uninitiated, that means he does some eye-opening work on the field. A little bit of football humor, but not bad for a sport known more for head-banging than than for the bon mot. It's fitting that Baggs plays for the Ravens, which has its own rich literary heritage.