Be safe. Eat candy. Read Horror.
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The Dead Writers Club was born out of the fact that there are very few living writers out there that are worth reading. (Naturally, this is because we all yearn to live in the past)
Do you consistently feel as though you are living in the wrong time period? We do too.
This blog is a celebration of literature and the greats who wrote before us.
Do you consistently feel as though you are living in the wrong time period? We do too.
This blog is a celebration of literature and the greats who wrote before us.
~ Monday, October 31 ~
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~ Sunday, October 30 ~
Here’s a virtual movie of the great Edgar Allan Poe reading his much loved and very dark poem “The Raven” ………. courtesy of Jim Clark at Poetryanimations!
The Raven” is a narrative poem by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845.In our opinion, it is the ultimate “Halloween classic”!
Poe claimed to have written the poem very logically and methodically. His intention was to create a poem that would appeal to both critical and popular tastes, as he explains in the follow-up essay: “The Philosophy of Composition”. The poem was inspired in part by a talking raven in the novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of ‘Eighty by Charles Dickens.[3] Poe borrows the complex rhythm and meter of Elizabeth Barrett’s poem “Lady Geraldine’s Courtship”.
HAVE A HAPPY, SAG=FE AND GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT HALLOWEEN!!!
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~ Thursday, October 7 ~
Happy Deathday Mr. Poe!
Today is Edgar Allan Poe’s deathday. Poe died in 1849 from what is believed to be tuberculosis, though there were numerous suspicions that the writer had contracted rabies, cholera, syphilis or perhaps had an epileptic seizure. We’ll never know for sure as the death records have been lost. He was only 40 years old.
Poe is among the most famous writers of our time. He is remembered as the Master of Horror and the macabre. His writings have haunted and thrilled readers for many years and his influence on popular culture has been legendary.
Among his masterpieces are the short stories The Pit and the Pendulum, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Masque of the Red Death, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Gold Bug. His poetry expresses a melancholy yet sensuous state of being that leaves many readers with mixed emotions. Poe unnerves some and inspires others. Some of our favorite poems by Poe include his masterpiece “The Raven”, “The Bells”, “The City in the Sea” and of course, “Annabel Lee”.
Poe published his first volume of poetry in 1827, Tamerlane and other Poems. But it was not published under his name but rather as “A Bostonian”. It may encourage and interest some of you aspiring poets out there to know that Poe’s most famous poem “The Raven”, first published in 1845, only earned the poet between $10 and $15!!
Edgar Allan Poe may have died poverty stricken, widowed and wandering the streets of Baltimore in a confused and delirious state (on account of drunkenness or perhaps rabies), but mark our words… he will never be forgotten. His terrifying and thought provoking texts will continue to haunt readers for many many ages to come.
Today, remember Mr. Poe. Draw the curtains, light some candles and listen for things that go bump in the night as you read. And should a “Black Cat” cross your path, be sure to send it Poe’s regards.
Write on in peace, Mr. Poe!
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~ Tuesday, March 2 ~
The World’s Poets
We found this print in an old book called “Portraits and Principles of the World’s Great Men and Women” by William C. King. This excellent tome includes portraits of the greatest presidents and the greatest poets! The best part? The book was published in 1897.
The portrait includes Schiller, (Robert) Browning, Poe, Tennyson, Shakespeare, Keats, (Robert) Burns, Goethe and Milton. Unfortunately, there are no women in the portrait, but- we all know how that goes. Still- despite that one short-coming, it is an exceptional find.
We share it with you all.
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