654 More (to) Poe
Class | This program is completed
CHANGE FROM THE CATALOG:
This class will meet five times. There will be no class on May 1.
Does it surprise you to learn that Edgar Allan Poe “was most known in his day as a scathing literary critic, a cynical humorist, a writer of hoaxes, a literary philosopher, a Romantic poet, and a caustic satirist” (M. Grant Kellermeyer)? Do you perceive him as a gloomy and humorless drunkard who failed to gain fame in his lifetime? Do you know the many places he lived before he died in Baltimore? Do you know Abraham Lincoln’s connection with Poe or what the Poe Toaster is? Can you spell his name without looking?
We’ll explore more Poe writings beyond the mostly macabre stories of the 2024 fall course by Mary Bernath, “Getting to Know Poe” (which inspired this class). From the genres mentioned in the Kellermeyer quote, as well as adventure and sci-fi genres, we’ll learn there’s more to Poe’s life beyond common “mythconceptions”. We will also armchair travel to the several American cities and London where he lived and is memorialized through museums, houses and/or historic markers. And we’ll consider where we think Poe was successful or not in his life and beyond and why.
REQUIRED TEXT: Edgar Allan Poe: The Fever of Living by Paul Collins.
Unless you can find a truly comprehensive collection of Poe’s works, a standard physical book may have some but not all the works we need as they tend to focus on the well-known stories. Thus, access to an online collection of Poe’s writings, such as eapoe.org or the Kindle e-book Oakshot Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Illustrated, Inline Footnotes) (Classics Book 1) at Amazon is needed. You can also listen via a podcast, YouTube or website (LibriVox.org) to many of the stories--I'll let you know where. The shorter works, such as letters or critiques, I can send via email.
LuAnn O'Connell
LUANN O’CONNELL has taught BILL classes on the character Sherlock Holmes and author Edgar Allan Poe. She reads extensively in diverse genres and loves travel, combining these interests by creating a Sherlock Holmes sitting room and a medieval bedchamber in her home. She is currently fascinated with the medieval era in the British Isles. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in public policy analysis. She also homeschooled her children taught homeschool co-op literature classes and led spiritual retreats.