Poetry News

The Fall of the House of Poe

By Harriet Staff

Poor Edgar Allan Poe. First, his genius goes unrecognized during his lifetime. Then, he dies under mysterious circumstances. Now, his old house is being vandalized! From HuffPo:

The historic Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore, which lost its longtime curator and was shuttered in September amid an operational reorganization, has in the last month been defaced by graffiti and robbed of its wooden front steps, according to those involved in the museum’s revitalization.

City officials said they are aware of the damage and recently repainted the museum door, which had been scrawled with mostly illegible writings in marker. They also said they regularly check on the museum and respond to any complaints about its condition.

Still, the recent damage has raised concerns that the 19th-century author’s former home, which is nearly 200 years old, has been neglected — and is vulnerable to increased vandalism without its regular visitors and the supervision of Jeff Jerome, its longtime curator who lost his job when the museum closed.

There’s more bad news where that came from. What’s next for Poe? A campaign contesting his authorship, à la Anonymous?

Tags: Edgar Allan Poe
Posted in Poetry News on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 by Harriet Staff.