June 4, 2022 @ 09:00 EDT
Site Visit #35
When I looked at pictures and photos of Edgar Allan Poe, I always sensed sadness. Perhaps it was in his eyes that, to me, seemed focused elsewhere. Of course, I had no basis for my impression. At least, none until I visited the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site in Philadelphia. The story of Poe’s far too short life is explained in a short movie and in numerous posters of information around the site.
Poe actually moved around a good bit both as a child and an adult. He lived in Philadelphia for only six years, and in those six years, he lived in five different locations. The Historic Site is the only surviving structure. It is a modest-sized house consisting of three levels, each with two rooms. A self-guided tour takes you through this house, up the very narrow staircases to the top floor, then all the way down to the basement, which immediately invoked in me the Cask of Amontillado!
Poe lost his mother to tuberculosis at age three. His father had already abandoned the family, so Poe was raised by what we would call today foster parents; in his case, rich foster parents. He was sent to England to study and returned only to join the army. He actually received an appointment to West Point but left after 8 months. He really wanted to write AND edit a literary magazine, preferably one he owns. He would seem to latch on to existing journals, drastically increase their readership, then see them go under, or have some other life event that caused him to leave.
When things seemed to be going well for him, his wife contracted tuberculosis and subsequently died at the young age of 24. Two years later, Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore, incoherent and seemingly delirious. He was not even supposed to be in Baltimore. Unfortunately, answers to why was he there, and what happened to him, will never be answered. Four days after being found on that street and hospitalized, he was dead at the age of 40. No cause of death was ever determined.
The Historic Site provides an interesting look into the life of one of America’s greatest writers. Though the house itself is merely a curiosity and simply a place to convey Poe’s story, the information about his up and down life is intriguing. And will I wonder, ever wonder why those eyes looked sad and poor? Nevermore!
Steve
