A local special-effects artist created aneerily lifelike — or deathlike — mock-up of Poe’s corpse.
For Edgar Allan Poe,2009 has been a better year than 1849. After dozens of events inseveral cities to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth, he’s aboutto get the grand funeral that a writer of his stature should havereceived when he died.
One hundred sixty yearsago, the beleaguered, impoverished Poe was found, delirious and indistress outside a Baltimore tavern. He was never coherent enough toexplain what had befallen him since leaving Richmond, Va., a weekearlier. He spent four days in a hospital before he died at age 40.
Poe’scousin, Neilson Poe, never announced his death publicly. Fewer than 10people attended the hasty funeral for one of the 19th century’sgreatest writers. And the injustices piled on. Poe’s tombstone wasdestroyed before it could be installed, when a train derailed andcrashed into a stonecutter’s yard. Rufus Griswold, a Poe enemy,published a libelous obituary that damaged Poe’s reputation for decades.
But on Sunday, Poe’s funeral will get an elaborate do-over, with twoservices expected to draw about 350 people each — the most a formerchurch next to his grave can hold. Actors portraying Poe’scontemporaries and other long-dead writers and artists will pay theirrespects, reading eulogies adapted from their writings about Poe.
“Weare following the proper etiquette for funerals. We want to make it asrealistic as possible,” said Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House andMuseum.
Advance tickets are sold out, althoughJerome will make some seats available at the door to ensure packedhouses. Fans are traveling from as far away as Vietnam.
The funeral is arguably the splashiest of a year’s worth of events honoring the 200th anniversary of Poe’s birth. Along with Baltimore— where he spent some of his leanest years in the mid-1830s — Poe livedin or has strong connections to Boston, New York, Philadelphia andRichmond.
With the funeral angle covered, the Edgar Allan Poe Museumin Richmond staged a re-enactment last weekend of his death. Those witha more academic interest in Poe can attend the Poe StudiesAssociation’s annual conference from Thursday through Sunday inPhiladelphia.
Visitors in Baltimore for the funeral can enjoy a new exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art, “Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon,” which includes chilling illustrations to “The Raven” by Edouard Manet.
Baltimorehas a decided advantage over the other cities that lay claim to Poe,notes BMA director Doreen Bolger. “We have the body,” she said.
Thisweek, that’s true in more ways than one. Jerome said he’s gotten callsfrom people who thought he was going to exhume Poe’s remains and reburythem.
“When they dug up Poe’s body in 1875 tomove it, it was mostly skeletal remains,” Jerome said. “I’ve seenremains of people who’ve been in the ground since that time period, andthere’s hardly anything left.”
Instead, Jeromecommissioned local special-effects artist Eric Supensky to create aneerily lifelike — or deathlike — mock-up of Poe’s corpse.
“I got chills,” Jerome said Monday upon seeing the body for the first time. “This is going to freak people out.”
The body will lie in state for 12 hours Wednesday at the Poe House, a tiny rowhome in a gritty section of west Baltimore. Visitors are invited to pay their respects.
Following the viewing will be an all-night vigil at Poe’s grave at Westminster Burying Ground. Anyone who attends will have the opportunity to deliver a tribute.
OnSunday morning, a horse-drawn carriage will transport the replica ofPoe’s body from his former home to the graveyard for the funeral.
Actor John Astin, best known as Gomez Addams on TV’s “The Addams Family,” will serve as master of ceremonies.
“It’s sort of a way of saying, ‘Well, Eddie, your first funeral wasn’ta very good one, but we’re going to try to make it up to you, becausewe have so much respect for you,'” said Astin, who toured as Poe foryears in a one-man show.
The service won’t be a total lovefest, however. The first eulogy will come from none other than Griswold.
“People are asking me, ‘Jeff, why are you inviting him? He hatedPoe!'” Jerome said. “The reason is, most of these people defended Poein response to what he said about Poe’s life, so we can’t have thisservice without having old Rufus sitting in the front row, spewingforth his hatred.”
Eulogies will follow from actors portraying, among others, Sarah Helen Whitman,a minor poet whom Poe courted after his wife’s death, and Walt Whitman,who attended the dedication of Poe’s new gravestone in 1875 but didn’tfeel well enough to speak. Writers and artists influenced by Poe,including Arthur Conan Doyle and Alfred Hitchcock, will also berepresented.
Jerome expects to cry — one reason he won’t be speaking. Even his rivals are impressed with the scale of the tribute.
“Annoyed as I am with Baltimore sometimes, I have to give themcredit,” said Philadelphia-based Poe scholar Edward Pettit, who argueshis city was of greater importance to Poe’s life and literary career.”Baltimore has done an awful lot to maintain the legacy of Poe over thelast 100-some years.”
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On the Net:
Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum: http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/historic/poehouse.php