Edgar Allan Poe

MASTER OF MYSTERY AND
THE MACABRE

Edgar Allan Poe's name is synonymous
with horror, mystery, and the macabre.
But as a writer, he is not so easy to
characterize. By turns, Poe was a
romantic poet who penned affectionate
verse to a succession of women. He
also wrote black comedy (for example, "Loss of Breath") and hilariously tall
tales ("The Angel of the Odd"). He used logic, common sense, and a knowledge of human nature, long before Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave birth to Sherlock Holmes, to solve mysteries both in detective fiction ("Murders in the Rue
Morgue") and in real life ("The Mystery
of Marie Roget"). He dabbled in science fiction ("Mellonta Tauta"). For good measure he wrote broad farce ("Why the
Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling").

But Poe was a poet first and last. He
began his literary career with
"Tammerlane And Other Poems" and ended with the melodic composition
"The Bells".

Briefly, Poe vastly influenced all modern poetry by the way he employed imagery to evoke and suggest rather than to picture and photograph the words with what he had to say-- his method subjective rather than objective.

Poe was thrust into this "dark and cruel" world on January 19, 1809. He was born to one of the oldest and most respected Scotch-Irish families in Baltimore. His paternal grandfather, General David Poe was a quartermaster-general in the Continental Forces of 1778 and an intimate friend of the Marquis de Lafayette.

Edgar Poe's mother, Elizabeth Arnold and father, David Poe, were actors with the Charleston and Virginia Players. His parents both died of consumption within weeks of one another leaving poor Poe an orphan at the age of two.

He was adopted by John Allan, a wealthy Scottish merchant in Richmond, Virginia. Allan's wife, Francis adored the boy. But his stepfather's cruel disposition contributed to a decline in father/son relationships.

Life dealt unfortunate blows to Poe and throughout his life became more introspective of the soul's somber conditions which yielded such masterworks as "The Raven," "The Pit
and the Pendulum," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and
"Annabel Lee."

His cogitations in prose and verse have extended human experience and literature up into to the lofty heights of heaven and into the tortuous depths of hell. His grief for the loss of love and lovers is lyric, lovely and immortal.

No one else has penned for us so unforgettable glimpses of the heart's lost Hesperides, the archipelagos of love in demon-haunted oceans bounded by the night's Plutonian shore.

"It was many and many a year ago
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived
whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived
with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me."

SUGGESTED READING

Midnight Dreary
by John Evangelist Walsh,
Rutgers University Press, 1998

The Unabridged Edgar Allan Poe,
Running Press, 1983

Poe Essays and Reviews,
The Library of America, 1984

The Unknown Poe,
City Light Books,1980

Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance
by Kenneth Silverman, Harper Collins, 1991

"Once Upon A Midnight Dreary..."

LINKS

Young Audiences, Inc.

Orisse's Edgar Allan Poe Page

Poe Museum Richmond

Poe Society Baltimore

Poe Webliography

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS
PROGRAM EMAIL DAVID SKIPPER
BY CLICKING HERE!

"Dark Whispers of Genius" is a characterization by Skipper as Edgar Allan Poe, America’s premier Gothic poet, writer and literary critic.

As Poe, Skipper details his ancestry, being taken into the wealthy Scottish Allan family of Richmond and his vivid impressions of Scotland and England as a young boy, and other definitive influences upon his life.

In the performance Skipper attempts
to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about the poet in addition to providing recitations of
both the author’s well known and obscure works.

The program is adaptable for all age levels.

PAST VENUES:

	2003 Colorado Performing Arts Festival
	Anchorage Museum of History and Art
	Gateway High School, Aurora, CO
	Heritage High School, Littleton, CO
	Gunnison Art Center, Gunnison, CO
	Gunnison High School, Gunnison, CO
	Boulder Public Library, Boulder, CO
	Southglenn Public Library, Greenwood Village, CO
	MileHighCon, Denver, CO
	Delaney Farm, Aurora, CO
	2000 Colorado Performing Arts Festival, Denver, CO
	2000 World Horror Convention, Denver, CO
	Laredo Middle School, Aurora, CO
	Dakota Ridge High School, Littleton, CO
	1999 Rocky Mountain Book Festival, Denver, CO
	Weld County District Library, Greeley, CO
	Frontier Academy School, Greeley, CO
	Aurora Hills Middle School, Aurora, CO
	Lapham-Patterson House, Thomasville, GA
	Knott House Museum, Tallahassee, FL
	Tallahassee Museum of Natural History and Science
	Leroy Collins Public Library, Tallahassee, FL
	Leon County Schools, Tallahassee, FL
	Private parties, community and civic meetings and literary circles.

COMMENTS
From Students, Teachers and Adults

"Thank you for bringing Edgar Poe to Gateway High School students. Your delightful performance was educational and inspiring!"

"It was very moving to hear someone perform the emotional poems... that Edgar Allan Poe wrote."

"I liked how you put feeling and emotion into "The Raven" and "The Tell Tale Heart". I want to read more of his stories."

"I really enjoyed it. I learned quite a bit more about Poe... and made my interest in him increase."

"You really brought Mr. Poe to life. We'd been reading about him for awhile and now, it seems like we've met him. Thank you for such an original experience."

"I just wanted to thank you for coming
to talk with us about Edgar Allan Poe.
It amazed me because you were able to answer so many questions without hesitation. I felt as if you really were Poe."

"If Mr. Edgar Allan Poe weren't dead I would have mistaken you for him."

"Mr. Skipper knows Poe."

"Skipper was incredibly good. He really brought the character to life."

"Wonderful to be able to ask questions in character and out."

This page designed by David Skipper,
Copyright © 2001