Edgar Allan Poe

For the love of God, Montre- sor! Yes, I said, for the love of God (or at least the love of Baltimore). I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. In pace requiescat! (That means here, hon). For a century and a half, no mortal has disturbed the bones of the author of The Cask of Amontillado, a story about a murder told from the point of view of the murderer. Now somebody in Philadelphia is suggesting that the last remains of Edgar Allan Poe, the murderer-imaginer, be snatched away to the banks of the Schuylkill, as reported yesterday by the sharp-eyed Laura Vozzella of this newspaper (the sober eye of Reason)

Off to see the `Wicked' Yep, I think we're in Oz. Subtitled "The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz," the blockbuster musical Wicked is taking up residence at the Hippodrome through Feb. 18, starring Victoria Matlock as Elphaba, as the Wicked Witch of the West is known; Christina DeCicco as Glinda, the Good Witch; and P.J. Benjamin as the Wizard. Based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel - a prequel to The Wizard of Oz -Wicked has a score by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. And, Oz is spreading.

As if Edgar Allan Poe's much-debated demise was not cause enough for speculation, now comes another uncertainty: What will happen to the place where he died?The author and poet, Baltimore's favorite grim son, died before daylight 150 years ago in what was Washington College Hospital and is now Church Hospital. The problem today is that Church Hospital is closing shortly, and the prognosis for saving the venerable brick building is not good.Nearby Johns Hopkins has made an offer to buy Church and its two city blocks on North Broadway, but Hopkins Health System President Ronald R. Peterson said interest in the property is "longer-term land use."

Thy soul shall find itself alone --Alone of all on earth -- unknownThe Cause -- but none are near to pryInto thine hour of secrecy.-- Edgar Allan Poe, "Spirits of the Dead," 1827Cold the night, sacred the mission. Early this morning, it is universally assumed, The Visitor again eased into Westminster Hall at Fayette and Greene streets. At the towering monument bearing the name Edgar Allan Poe (and his young wife and mother-in-law), The Visitor left the tell-tale gifts: three roses (red, typically)

African-American art at BMAFor a look at the spectrum of voices raised by African-American women in the 20th century, view the work of artists Elizabeth Catlett and Faith Ringgold at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive at North Charles Street. "Elizabeth Catlett Sculpture: A Fifty-Year Retrospective" and "Dancing at the Louvre: Faith Ringgold's French Collection and Other Story Quilts" are on display Wednesday through April 11. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, until 9 p.m. the first Thursday of each month, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

"Cara mia!" Gomez Addams as Edgar Allan Poe?Yes, John Astin, whose most familiar role was as the patriarch of the Addams family, comes to Baltimore this weekend to portray Edgar Allan Poe.Picturing Astin in the role as Poe somehow works. Perhaps it's because Gomez was certainly a weird and wacky character. And Poe? What can you say about a man who gave the world "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Telltale Heart"? Weird? Yes. Wacky? Some would say, even allowing for his immense talent.So Astin, with his kindly yet slightly crazed eyes, easily makes the jump from Gomez to Poe. Crowds of people have already enjoyed watching him portray the writer.

Will someone now leave roses and cognac at his grave?A mystery man who for nearly 50 years left roses and cognac at the grave of Edgar Allan Poe died in December, according to a computer-written note found early yesterday morning at Poe's grave.The note was tucked among three roses and a bottle of Martell's cognac hand-delivered by another mystery man at Poe's grave on his 190th birthday."The gentleman who started the tradition in 1949 died from a prolonged illness this December," says Jeff Jerome, curator of the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum.

Imaginative tales continue to grow from the house where Edgar Allan Poe wrote his first horror stories almost 170 years ago.Literary tourists cross paths with city folks every Saturday at Poe's home in West Baltimore, which is surrounded by a public housing complex that bears Poe's name.With the 150th anniversary of the author's death coming up next month, the meetings of these decidedly different cultures provides a glimpse into what frightens people today, and how perceptions and misperceptions mutate into what might be called urban vs. tourist folklore.

Edgar Allan Poe(1809-1849)Poe, whose earthly remains rest in Baltimore, wrote primarily on horror, reason and beauty. One of his more grim works, "Raven," gained him his initial notoriety."

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.

Baltimore's an Edgar Allan Poe kind of town, never more so than in 2009, with the Poe House, a football team named for his most famous poem and a yearlong celebration honoring the macabre author's death. Naturally, Baltimore's repertory movie house would want to feature a Poe movie at some point, if only to bask in the reflected glow of this long-term love affair. Problem is, when it comes to movies based on Poe's stories, there's a curious dearth of material. There's certainly a dearth of good material.

Free POE PROJECT: Single Carrot Theatre, 120 W. North Ave., offers four free performances of an interactive work in progress based on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. The show takes place today and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Call 443-844-9253 or go to singlecarrot.com. The event is held in conjunction with the citywide cultural celebration, Free Fall Baltimore, which runs through Oct. 31. For a complete list of Free Fall events, go to freefallbaltimore.com.

SATURDAY 72 FILM FEST: The 72 Film Fest, in its fourth year, gives budding filmmakers 72 hours to write, direct, edit and score a short film. The theme for this year's films, created between Oct. 1 and 4, was "image of influence," in which the filmmakers chose an image that had a major influence on their final product. Edgar Allan Poe was an optional theme. The festival's main event, including screenings of the top-judged films, takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the Weinberg Center for the Arts, 20 W. Patrick St. in Frederick.

Edgar Allan Poe is finally getting the send-off he always deserved - from a city that has spent decades claiming him as one of its own. True, he's spent more than a century and a half buried in the hallowed grounds surrounding Baltimore's Westminster Hall. It's also true that Baltimore isn't the only city celebrating Poe, in this bicentennial of his birth on Jan. 19, 1809. At least four other East Coast cities - Richmond, Va., Philadelphia, New York and Boston - have legitimate claims to Poe's legacy.

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.

There's no need to scoot over. Baltimore's favorite stoop is about to get a lot more wiggle room. Stoop Storytelling, the series in which local residents tell unscripted anecdotes about their lives, has been a hit since its debut performance in February 2006. After the first season, the show's two creators, scrambling to keep up with the demand for tickets, moved the series to Center Stage, with more than double the seats - and nearly every show still sold out. Would-be audience members have been known to try to obtain coveted tickets by offering half-joking bribes of chocolate to members of the box office.

Six whimsical sculptures took over the amphitheater at the Inner Harbor on Saturday as the annual City Sand festival pitted local architects and designers in a somewhat artistic race. Competitors, who took their theme from the life and writings of Edgar Allan Poe on the 200th anniversary of his birth, labored for three hours in sandboxes. They each sculpted something Poe-ish from 100 cubic feet of sand. Water made the sand more malleable and the sculptors hydrated in the summer heat. "Sand is definitely a different medium," said Cherisse Dandrow, a landscape designer with Mahan Rykiel Associates.

After taking a cruise to Alaska in September, we made a stop in Victoria, British Columbia, on our way to San Diego. While visiting Craigdarroch Castle, I was standing in the tower and found my inner Edgar Allan Poe to take this shot. The Baltimore Sun welcomes submissions for "My Best Shot." Photos should have been taken within the past year and be accompanied by a description of when and where you took the picture and your name, address and phone number. Submissions cannot be individually acknowledged or returned, and upon submission become the property of The Baltimore Sun. Readers who have their photos selected for publication will receive a travel book or guide.

In the Shadow of the Master Edited by Michael Connelly William Morrow / 389 pages / $24.95 For the 200th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's birth, the Mystery Writers of America have published this collection of 16 of Poe's best works with often-insightful commentary by well-known mystery writers. As editor Michael Connelly explains it, Poe's death in Baltimore in 1849 is shrouded in mystery, as is much of his literary output. Ill, incoherent and dressed in clothes that were not his, 40-year-old Poe could have been mistaken for several of the protagonists of his short stories.

Poe: A Life Cut Short By Peter Ackroyd Nan A. Talese / Doubleday / 224 pages / $21.95 Every life and reputation could use some buffing up now and then, and Edgar Allan Poe, his influence obscured by legions of bad imitators, more than most. Peter Ackroyd, in this short, sharp and immensely readable little biography, is just the man to do it. Poe's imprint is on everything from crime fiction (the Edgars are awarded annually to the best mystery stories) to holidays (our celebration of Halloween owes more to Poe than Christmas does to Dickens)