Edgar Allan Poe died 160 years ago, but did not have a proper funeral, especially for such a respected author.
Instead of digging up and reburying Poe, a mockup was constructed and will lie instate for visitation and a wake before the funeral this weekend in Baltimore. Link -via Digg
Poe's cousin, Neilson Poe, never announced his death publicly. Fewer than 10 people attended the hasty funeral for one of the 19th century's greatest writers. And the injustices piled on. Poe's tombstone was destroyed before it could be installed, when a train derailed and crashed 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 two services expected to draw about 350 people each _ the most a former church next to his grave can hold. Actors portraying Poe's contemporaries and other long-dead writers and artists will pay their respects, reading eulogies adapted from their writings about Poe.
Instead of digging up and reburying Poe, a mockup was constructed and will lie instate for visitation and a wake before the funeral this weekend in Baltimore. Link -via Digg
Poe married a girl who was something like 12 years old. The family went so far as to fake her age in order for the marriage to happen.
Poe's alcoholism and his rash temper ruined his life. He spent most of his life in poverty. When things started to go well for him, he would either get in an argument with his benefactors, or he would get drunk and screw up. His self-destructive behaviour led to his early demise.
He spent his life trying to capitalize on his earlier works, and unsuccessfully trying to convince people with money to invest in his ideas for magazines.
He also wrote the Raven, which was an outstanding work of poetry.