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| navigate: home: magazine: spring/summer 2000: article | |
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Anniversary of Poe’s death brings scholars together for international conference by Celena E. Kusch | |||||||||||
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The names Vincent Price and Boris Karloff have become synonymous with grisly organ music, shadowed hallways, piercing screams and horror films like The Fall of the House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Raven and the silent movie Edgar Allan Poe’s The Bells. But even these actors, who defined horror for generations of moviegoers, rely on the traditions and literary achievements of gothic writers best embodied in the figure of Edgar Allan Poe. On the 150th anniversary of Poe’s death in October 1999, 243 Poe scholars and enthusiasts from around the globe commemorated Poe’s achievements and reflected on the author and his work at the International Edgar Allan Poe Conference in Richmond, Va. The conference was hosted by the Edgar Allan Poe Museum directed by Dr. John Moon and sponsored by the Poe Studies Association under the leadership of Dr. J. Gerald Kennedy, association president. The conference received additional support from Penn State Commonwealth College, Penn State DuBois, the College of the Liberal Arts, the Department of English and Penn State Continuing Education and from the Louisiana State University Office of the Provost and Department of English. Other contributors included the Poe Museum, Penn State Berks–Lehigh Valley and Penn State Altoona, the 19th Century Shop and noted Poe collector Mrs. Susan Tane. Dr. Richard Kopley, associate professor of English at Penn State DuBois, served as the conference organizer. According to Kopley, the mystique of Poe’s life and works has widespread appeal. “Everyone knows Poe,” Kopley said. “And everyone remembers reading Poe in high school. He’s more than the boogieman of American literature. In many ways, Poe has had a lasting impact on our culture today. Certainly, he perfected the horror genre in literature, but he also invented the detective story in his 1841 ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue.’ Poe made contributions to science fiction and to the development of the lyric poem and the short story itself. He also wrote important literary criticism. Today, Poe is recognized as an American original—his very name calls to mind the power of the imagination.” During the conference, scholars, including the University of Pennsylvania’s Dr. Daniel Hoffman, poet and author of the biography Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe Poe, discussed the continuing role of Poe in literature today. Penn State’s Dr. Daniel Walden, professor emeritus of American studies, English and comparative literature, presented a paper about I.B. Singer’s indebtedness to Poe, and Dr. Beverly Peterson, assistant professor of English and American studies at Penn State Fayette, presented research into Poe’s influence on poet Richard Wilbur. Along with more than 120 scholarly presentations concerning diverse aspects of Poe’s life and works, the Poe conference featured performances, poetry readings and an afternoon bus tour of Poe’s Richmond. Speakers represented a wide range of nations, including Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore and the United States. The guest of honor at the conference was John Dunning, prize-winning author of the celebrated detective novels Booked to Die and The Bookman’s Wake, the latter a work of fiction set in the antiquarian book world and concerning an exceptionally rare edition of Poe’s “The Raven.” Dunning’s most recent book is the 1998 reference volume On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Relying on his own extensive collection of early radio broadcasts, Dunning discussed Poe’s presence in radio. Kopley noted, “Radio treatments of Poe are a neglected area of study and should importantly help to clarify the history of Poe’s popular reputation.” Other scholarly panels picked up this theme of Poe in popular culture and memory. Among them, Dr. M. Thomas Inge of Randolph–Macon College delivered an extensive slide presentation tracing Poe’s presence and influence in comic books. This emphasis on the role of Poe in media and the performing arts continued in a special conference presentation by Oscar- and Emmy-nominated actor John Astin, most noted for his work as Gomez on television’s The Addams Family. Astin played the role of Poe in the one-person theatrical production of Edgar Allan Poe—Once Upon a Midnight. With flashes of humor and a tender, moving account of Poe’s love affair with his wife, Virginia, Astin led his audience through Poe’s life, revealing both the horror and the beauty of the demons that so profoundly influenced his work. Along with the biographical materials, the performance included excerpts from “The Raven,” “Annabel Lee,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Fall of the House of Usher” and many other Poe classics. “Astin’s portrayal was enriched by the actor’s extensive knowledge of Poe and deep respect for the writer,” Kopley noted. “This was a truly special performance.” Other highlights of the conference included a poetry reading by noted poets Phillip Levine, John Irwin and Dave Smith at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and a reception at the Poe Museum. Kopley added, “Poe collector Mrs. Susan Tane has suggested that this conference may have been the Poe event of the century. But now we’ve got a new century, and the Poe Studies Association will be planning for another conference—perhaps one of the great Poe events of the 21st century? We hope so.” An outreach program of the College of the Liberal Arts | ||||||||||
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