Word

The first month's sales numbers are in and I couldn't be happier with how my book: MODERN POE: VOL. I has done. My sincere thanks to all who purchased a copy, and a plea to ask you to help get the word out to friends and family. Modern Poe makes a great gift just in time for Autumn and just in time for Halloween! Thank you for your support, and thanks for spreading the word!

https://www.createspace.com/3610670

Support

I suppose a bit of explanation is in order.

The book that is 'Modern Poe: Vol. I' is a project that actually had its genesis several years ago - almost three years to be exact - while I was working at a local newspaper. A co-worker of mine happened to be an amazing artist, and we started talking about doing a project together: my words and her illustrations. The idea initially started out as a children's book - an offbeat history lesson for kids on the life and times of Edgar Allan Poe. What you see in the picture is a very different book indeed.

The main theme of our children's book was utilizing the alphabet and finding important people, places, and things regarding Poe to match those letters. Well, as you can probably guess, the subject concerning the letter 'E' was Poe's 1848 scientific treatise he called 'Eureka.' As I was studying up on 'Eureka' and trying to muddle my way through it so that I could write something about it in our book - I was immediately taken by the beauty of the language within. I read it again a little more carefully (but still didn't really understand it). Poe had been known to say that this would be considered his greatest work - and, while I wasn't sure I agreed, or even still to this day completely comprehend it - it definitely stands as a remarkable piece of writing that deserved more attention.

Slowly, the subject of our little book became overwhelmed by 'Eureka,' and what was once 26 letters became paired down to ONE (and important number to remember if you've ever read 'Eureka.') Once that decision was made to focus on this one piece of writing, I forged ahead with great ambition and never looked back. The book took on a life all it's own, practically assembling itself. Over the course of the past year, from August 2010 until now, 'Modern Poe: Vol. I' has been pieced together, page by page - and now it is finally complete.

It is with a great sense of relief, and a fair share of pride, that I announce the release of my first book. I send out a huge THANK YOU to Katie Aguado, my fabulously talented illustrator, and Brenda Stilson, my tireless editor, for helping this book be the best it could be. It is my hope that this book will intrigue readers of Poe - at the very least it would make an excellent gift for those who like to give something spooky or macabre during the Halloween season. Please help spread the word about this book - considering buying one for yourself - and remember that we are all within the Spirit Divine.

https://www.createspace.com/3610670

Modern Poe

My first book. Please visit my e-store to pick up your copy today! Your support and feedback is appreciated!

https://www.createspace.com/3610670

Quote of the Day

“America has been found out; and Poe had not; that is the situation. How did he live there, this finest of fine artists, this born aristocrat of letters? Alas! he did not live there: he died there, and was duly explained away as a drunkard and a failure... He was the greatest journalistic critic of his time... His poetry is exquisitely refined... In his stories of mystery and imagination Poe created a world record for the English language: perhaps for all languages... unparalleled and unapproached... Poe constantly and inevitably produced magic where his greatest contemporaries produced only beauty... There is really nothing to be said about it; we others simply take off our hats and let Mr. Poe go first.”

- George Bernard Shaw

Dreamland

I had the weirdest dream about Edgar Allan Poe last night/this morning. It's all fading so fast that I barely remember much of it except that Poe was dressed in an off-white suit and a panama hat like a southern gentleman (think: Tom Hanks in 'The Ladykillers') and we were sitting outside on a large plantation-style porch on wrought iron furniture. It was definitely a trip to get to hang out with him and sip tea and talk poetry. The big thing I remember is that I kept thinking: "He has nice manners, but he's too smart for me - I don't know what to say without sounding stupid..."

By a route obscure and lonely,
Haunted by ill angels only,
Where an Eidolon, named NIGHT,
On a black throne reigns upright,
I have reached these lands but newly
From an ultimate dim Thule-
From a wild clime that lieth, sublime,
Out of SPACE- out of TIME.

Orange Poe

Edgar Allan Poe
Originally uploaded by Dingerz

My love, she sleeps! Oh, may her sleep
As it is lasting, so be deep!
Soft may the worms about her creep!
Far in the forest, dim and old,
For her may some tall vault unfold-
Some vault that oft has flung its black
And winged panels fluttering back,
Triumphant, o'er the crested palls,
Of her grand family funerals-
Some sepulchre, remote, alone,
Against whose portal she hath thrown,
In childhood, many an idle stone-
Some tomb from out whose sounding door
She ne'er shall force an echo more,
Thrilling to think, poor child of sin!
It was the dead who groaned within.

Poe Shadow

Edgar Allan Poe
Originally uploaded by chucka_nc

[From the photographer's description:] Bust in the garden at Edgar Allan Poe Museum. Not exactly a huge place, but a few interesting artifacts -- His desk, chair, some writings, childhood bed, etc.

I must see this. I WILL see this...someday.

Poe - The Series?

Man - I just don't know what to think about this. I should be thrilled - but somehow I'm underwhelmed by an ABC 1840's crime drama centered around Edgar Allan Poe and his time in Boston. Maybe it's the casting of the lead (the hunky blond Christopher Egan) or the rest of the fabulously beautiful cast, but something just doesn't seem right about this. I've been a Poe enthusiast for years - so I'm obviously very protective of his legacy. Let's hope ABC gets it right and doesn't turn this into the disaster waiting to happen that I think it will be...

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/03/04/poe-chris-egan/

The Raven

Another pic of John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe in the upcoming thriller 'The Raven' has popped up online (for those who don't know, this isn't a biopic, rather a fictional serial killer suspense picture based off of Poe's stories). Currently filming as an independent production in Budapest, 'The Raven' also just picked up a distributor in Relativity Media. I'm not completely thrilled about this, as Relativity's pretty new in the distribution field - their first film released was the nutty Nic Cage's medieval clunker: 'Season of the Witch.' But then again, who am I kidding? It's about Poe, so I'll be there on opening day with three roses in hand and a half a bottle of Cognac hidden in my coat!

P.S. I'm also not happy about Cusack's facial hair. Poe scholars will be the first to tell you that the poet didn't have a mustache until late in his life, and NEVER - as far as we know - EVER sported a goatee. C'mon! This goes against every known daguerreotype of Poe known to exist! Do your homework, people!

Ulalume

An artist I've featured in the past - Katie Aguado has her own website now with canvases available to purchase. Check out her life-like portraits, and check out the amazing watercolor of Edgar Allan Poe she did (based on his poem 'Ulalume.')

It was hard by the dim lake of Auber, in the misty mid-region of Weir - it was down in the dank tarn of Auber, in the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir...

http://www.katieaguado.com/