Museum News

Kendall from Kromatic Photography sent us these images he made after last Saturday’s Poe Birthday Bash.

The Museum will be open from 10am – Midnight with events starting at NOON. Admission is $5 for the whole day, and you may come and go as you please so you can check out all the events you want to see!!! Events are still being added to the schedule, but see the current line-up below:

POE BIRTHDAY BASH SCHEDULE:

10:00am- 1:00pm: Gift shop sale! ( Take 15% off your entire purchase of $10 or more!)

12:00pm: Exhibit Opening (Stormier, Wilder and More Weird: James Carling and “The Raven” | and Curator talk.) *A MUST SEE*

1:00pm -1:15pm: Lucretia and Lavinia (belly dance duo )

1:15pm – 1:30pm: Aeon Yahweh (musician)

4:00pm – 5:00pm: Lucretia and Lavinia (belly dance duo)/ Sadira (dancer) and DragonSong (band)

5:00pm- on: Mulled Wine, Butter Beer and non-alcoholic beverage cash bar with free snacks.

5:30pm: Poe Birthday Cake

7:00pm – 8:00pm: Lucretia and Lavinia (belly dance duo)/ The Muse (dancer)/ Madame Onça (dancer)

8:00pm: Theatrical Victorian Seance. (See a Victorian Seance combining 19th century tricks and modern day effects)

9:00pm: Theatrical Victorian Seance. (See a Victorian Seance combining 19th century tricks and modern day effects)

11:30pm: Champagne Toast to Poe

*Additional events are still being finalized. Call the Museum at 804-648-5523 for more information (or) e-mail: info@poemuseum.org

Lucretia and Lavinia

Aeon Yahweh

Madame Onça

Here is the latest issue of the Poe Museum’s newsletter Evermore containing updates on the Museum’s events, exhibits, and its 90th anniversary.

Fall2011PoeMuseumnewsletter

We had nearly 200 people attend our Poe Museum Illumination event on December 2nd 2011.

Guests enjoyed music by Beggars of Life and enjoyed a living history appearance from Eliza Poe (as portrayed by the lovely Debbie Phillips), who favored us with some Christmas carols that would have been familiar in her time. Guests also were introduced to Miss Emmeline Edens, a lady from the mid-19th century who shared about Christmas traditions from that era. (Emmeline was portrayed by Poe Museum docent Amber Edens.)

While they enjoyed thousands of sparkling lights and ornaments which rendered our Enchanted Garden even more enchanted than usual, our guests got to sample tasty gingerbread and hot beverages courtesy of the Dirty Apron Catering Company.

Here is some video from the festivities:

And here are a few photos:

As always, more photos can be found in the Poe Museum’s flickr group.

It was a magical evening and we at the Poe Museum were delighted to share it with so many enthusiastic folks!

Thursday, December 8, 2011 is the bicentennial of the death of Edgar Allan Poe’s mother, Eliza Poe. Though Edgar was only two years old when he lost his mother, his “mournful and neverending remembrance” of her cast a shadow over his life and work. Although Eliza Poe’s fame has long been overshadowed by her famous son, she was actually a talented and popular actress in the early days of American theater.

In observance of the bicentennial, the Poe Museum hosted a lecture by renowned Poe scholar Richard Kopley, a performance by Eliza Poe interpreter Debbie Phillips, and an exhibit of rare artifacts related to her life and career. The weekend began with the Poe Illumination, in which the Poe Museum’s Enchanted Garden came to life with thousands of lights and holiday decorations. Below is some video of the Poe Foundation’s President, Dr. Harry Lee Poe, speaking at Eliza Poe’s grave after having laid a wreath on her monument.

The exhibit devoted to Poe’s mother continues until April 1, 2012, so be sure not to miss it. In case you can’t attend in person, some of the artifacts from the exhibit can now be seen in our online collections database.

Etching of Eliza Poe by Alexander Von Jost

Edgar Allan Poe was not the first member of his family to bring fame to the Poe name. His mother, Eliza Poe, who died at the age of twenty-four when Edgar was only two, was a gifted actress and singer who performed throughout the country. Just in time for the bicentennial of her death, the Poe Museum is bringing together some of the few remaining artifacts associated with her life for the exhibit Poe’s Mother: The Untold Story, opening December 2, 2011 and running until April 1, 2012. The exhibit will pay tribute to the talented performer who blazed the trail for future American actresses in a day when acting was still considered immoral and an unsuitable profession for women. Among the artifacts on view will be original scripts from plays in which she performed and a copy of her marriage bond and her only known signature.

Watercolor of Eliza Poe from Collection of the Poe Museum

The exhibit opening on December 2 from 6-9 P.M. will feature a performance by Eliza Poe as performed by Debbie Phillips. The performance will include original songs Eliza Poe is known to have performed. Admission to the opening reception event is free, and warm drinks and live music will be available.

Rare script for play featuring Eliza Poe in the Cast

Photo of Eliza Poe's Marriage Bond Courtesy of the Library of Virginia

Rare Engraving of the Richmond Theater Fire from the Collection of the Poe Museum

Copy of Only Known Letter Written by Eliza Poe Courtesy of the Lilly Library, Indiana

On December 3, 2011 at 1:00 P.M. at the Parish Hall at St. John’s Church, the Poe Museum will present a lecture by distinguished Poe scholar Richard Kopley on his thirty years of focused research into the hidden meanings of Edgar Allan Poe’s works. Kopley’s forty-five minute talk, “My Adventures with Poe,” will change the way you see Poe and his best-known stories and poems. Kopley’s original perspectives on Poe’s timeless works will provide fresh insights into Poe’s inspirations and creative process.

Richard Kopley is Associate Professor of English at Penn State DuBois and Head of the Division of English for Penn State’s Commonwealth College. He is the author of a forthcoming volume on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, as well as of numerous scholarly articles on Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville. He is the editor of Poe’s Pym: Critical Explorations (Duke UP, 1992), Prospects for the Study of American Literature (New York UP, 1997), and the Penguin edition of Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (1999). He is also co-editor of the journal Resources for American Literary Study, past president of the Poe Studies Association, and a trustee of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum.

Kopley’s scrutiny of Poe’s works and comprehensive understanding of Poe’s life has allowed him to see Poe in new ways. One of Kopley’s theories is that Poe’s detective stories could have been a response to an unsolved mystery in his own life. According to Kopley, “Poe’s biological father abandoned the family 12 months before his sister, Rosalie, was born, and that was a very big deal at the time. I’m inferring that Poe created the detective story and the character of Dupin [hero of Poe’s stories “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Purloined Letter,” and “The Mystery of Marie Roget”] to solve mysteries in place of the mystery he can’t solve: who is Rosalie’s father?”

The lecture is free to the public, and copies of Kopley’s limited edition booklet The Very Profound Under-Current in Arthur Gordon Pym will be available for signing and purchase.

It’s that time of year again. Kids are wearing costumes, decorating pumpkins, and hunting for candy. On October 29, they can do all those things and more while getting an introduction to great literature at the same time by coming to Poe’s Pumpkin Patch at the Poe Museum. The event runs from noon until 5 P.M. and is included in the price of Poe Museum admission. The Poe-themed games include a mummy wrapping contest inspired by “Some Words with a Mummy,” a black cat pinata inspired by “The Black Cat,” a treasure hunt inspired by “The Gold Bug” and “The Purloined Letter,” and more. A costume contest will allow guests to show off their costumes, and pumpkin decorating will be available for them to exercise their creativity. So make sure your kids grow up weird by bringing them to Poe’s Pumpkin Patch on October 29.

Are you the next Edgar Allan Poe? Find out June 17-23, 2012 at the next Edgar Allan Poe Young Writers’ Conference sponsored by the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia. More information is available here.

The application for this year’s conference is now available at the link below.
Poe_Writers_Conf_App

Students at a previous Poe Young Writers' Conference visiting the Poe Museum

Want to be the next Edgar Allan Poe? If you are a high school student we loves writing, the Edgar Allan Poe Young Writers’ Conference is for you.

The Edgar Allan Poe Young Writers’ Conference, scheduled for June 17-23, 2012, provides a weeklong residential program designed to encourage and stimulate the writing skills of high school students. Students will have a variety of experiences including small group instruction with a writing instructor, lectures by practicing writers in several different fields, personal writing time with critical response from instructors, and special events designed to enhance the writing experience.

This conference is sponsored by the Edgar Allan Poe Museum of Richmond, Virginia, to continue the legacy of Edgar Allan Poe. One of Poe’s greatest concerns was the development of a truly American literature. As editor of many of the nation’s leading journals, Poe inspired many young writers. In keeping with that concern, the Poe Museum hopes to encourage the development of the next generation of writers.

Poe called Richmond his home, having spent the greater part of his life here. During his teenage years in Richmond, he was encouraged to write by Mrs. Jane Stith Stanard. In Richmond he began his career in journalism when he took over the editorship of The Southern Literary Messenger.

LECTURES

Each morning the participants will hear from practicing writers in a variety of fields, including fiction, poetry, journalism, and non-fiction. Since participants will have already studied the mechanics of grammar in school, the lecturers will address the practice of writing from their own experience. Lectures will combine theory and practice to give the participants an understanding of what is involved in moving to the next level as a writer.

SEMINAR

Each participant will take part in a daily seminar that includes an experienced writing instructor and 9 – 12 students. Seminars are working groups in which participants read from their own work, receive critique and encouragement from the instructor and their peers, and gain instruction in how to improve as a writer. Participants will be introduced to exercises and promptings that enhance writing skills.

PRACTICING THE CRAFT

Every afternoon the participants will devote time to developing the craft of writing by immediately putting into practice what they have gained from lectures and seminars. Seminar leaders will help students craft the piece they work on during the week.

FOCUS ON POE

A critical element that contributes to good writing is a strong appreciation of good writing. Every afternoon, a presentation will be given that deals with an aspect of the writing of Edgar Allan Poe and what makes his writing so effective. Poe is known and appreciated around the world as America’s contribution to world literature. We will explore why his poetry and tales are read avidly in France, Russia, Japan, and around the world.

SALON

Writing emerges from the experiences of life. During Poe’s day, the artists and writers of the time gathered regularly in the evenings. Music or drama may have been the focus of their attention as much as writing. Cross-fertilization of artistic and intellectual experiences stimulates creativity. In short, all work and no play makes Jack and Jill painfully dull. Evening activities are meant to be fun while contributing to a frame of reference that will give writers something to say.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who may apply?

High school students who have completed the ninth grade may apply.

What is a residential program?

A residential program involves living together as a community of writers. A residential approach allows for the creation of an environment that encourages the development of an attitude of writing. Colleagues stimulate one another through conversation, sharing of ideas, reading one another’s work, and sharing a routine designed to gain the maximum benefit from a weeklong experience.

Where will the participants stay?

Participants will live together in a college dormitory. All lectures, small groups, and most special events will take place across the street in the University Commons. Participants will take meals together in the University dining hall across from the Commons.

Are students on their own after class?

Because this is a residential program in which all the pieces are carefully designed to complement one another, there is no free time after class until the entire week is over. Resident assistants who are college students live in the dorms with the conference participants to ensure that everyone respects the purpose of the conference and to be available in case of emergencies. We will have one resident assistant for every ten students.

What are the security provisions in the dorm?

Security guards are on duty twenty-four hours a day at the entrance to the dormitory and make regular inspections of the facility.

What is the cost of the program?

The cost per person is $650.00. This fee includes lodging for six nights, double occupancy, and three meals per day, Monday through Friday. The Sunday meal will only be supper following afternoon arrival, and the Saturday meal will only be breakfast flowed by departure.

Who is the director of the conference?

The director of the conference is Edgar Award-winning author Dr. Harry Lee Poe, a cousin of Edgar Allan Poe and the current president of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum. Dr. Poe has had a distinguished academic career as scholar and administrator. He has written seven books and contributed chapters to over twenty others. He is a published poet and popular speaker.

SAMPLE DAILY SCHEDULE

7:30 – 8:00 Breakfast

8:00 – 8:30 Personal time

8:30 – 9:30 Morning Plenary (lecture)

9:30 – 9:45 Break

9:45 – 10:45 Seminar

10:45 – 11:00 Break

11:00 – 12:00 Seminar (cont.)

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch

1:00 – 4:00 Personal Writing Time

4:00 – 5:00 Focus on Poe

5:00 – 6:00 Free time

6:00 – 7:00 Supper

7:00 – 9:00 Salon (special events)

9:00 – 11:00 Community

RULES

We assume that those who apply to the program are serious about writing and want to use their time to develop their skill and make a contribution as a member of a writing community. Failure to comply with the rules will result in expulsion from the program.

Smoking and/or the use of alcohol or other illegal substances is not allowed.

Students are not allowed to have a car with them during the conference.

Students may not leave the campus.

Students may not visit the dorm rooms of members of the opposite sex. Residence life is not a co-ed experience.

Students may not engage in sexual relations.

In order to attend the conference, applicants must sign a statement that they have read the rules and agree to abide by them.

MAKING APPLICATION

The Edgar Allan Poe Young Writers’ Conference is open to high school students who demonstrate a serious interest in writing and have the maturity to live in an academic community for a week. You will be notified by May 1 of the decision about your application. Those who are accepted into the program will be expected to pay a deposit of $100 by May 30, 2012 to secure their place in the conference. A complete application includes the following:

1. A completed application form.

2. A writing sample of fiction, poetry, journalism, or non-fiction essay of not more than five pages, double-spaced.

3. A completed recommendation form from a teacher familiar with your ability and interest in writing (sent directly to the Poe Museum).

4. A completed recommendation from a teacher or other adult who can attest to your maturity and ability to work within a close-knit community (sent directly to the Poe Museum).

Mail your application by April 1, 2012 to:
Edgar Allan Poe Young Writers’ Conference
Poe Museum
1914 East Main Street
Richmond, Virginia 23223

Have more questions? Call the Poe Museum at 888-21-EAPOE or email us at info@poemuseum.org for more information and an application. You can also download the application here.

Conference Director Dr. Harry Poe with Poe performer Norman George at a previous conference