2001-10-29 Halloween and Edgar Allan Poe

VOICE ONE: OctoberThirty-First is Halloween. It is an unofficial holiday thatcelebrates the frightening and strange. We celebrate with a reportabout a Nineteenth-century American writer. His stories were some ofthe most frightening and strange ever written. I’m Shirley Griffith.VOICE TWO: And I’m Doug Johnson. The writer Edgar Allan Poe is ourreport today on the VOA Special English program THIS IS AMERICA.((Haunting music)) VOICE ONE: Halloween is mostly a holiday forchildren, who like to be frightened. Yet many grown people observeHalloween, too. Those who love the writings of Edgar Allan Poe thinkHalloween is the best time of year to celebrate them. Poe is mostfamous for his stories and poems of strangeness, mystery, andterror. He wrote about people buried while still alive. Aboutinsanity and death. About dreams that become real…or reality thatseems like a dream. VOICE TWO: Edgar Allan Poe died in the city ofBaltimore in Eighteen-Forty-Nine. Now, in that city, an unusualparty takes place every Halloween. In the dark of night, visitors goto the church ground where Poe is buried. Everything is quiet. Thena voice calls out. It is Poe! (pause) No, it is just an actor,reading Poe’s work. ((Haunting music)) VOICE ONE: Reading storieswas one of the most important forms of enjoyment in Edgar AllanPoe’s time. Poe created many of these “short” stories. They appearedin different publications. Horror stories already were popular whenPoe began writing. Critics say he wrote the perfect horror story.Poe also wrote detective stories. These were mysteries about crimes,such as murder. The mysteries are solved by an investigator called adetective. He or she is able to find important, hidden meanings infacts. The horror and detective stories Poe created remain extremelypopular in books and movies. VOICE TWO: Edgar Allan Poe’s work isnot easy to read. His language is difficult to understand today. Andmost of his writing describes very unpleasant situations and events.His story “The Pit and the Pendulum,” for example, is about themental torture of a prisoner. Each time the prisoner saves himselffrom death, a new and more horrible form of death threatens him.Another story is “The Masque of the Red Death.” In it, a terribledisease — the Red Death — has killed half the population of acountry. The ruler of the country shuts his castle against thedisease. He and his wealthy friends are inside. They pass the timeby having parties. They believe the Red Death will not find them.But it does. ((Haunting music)) VOICE ONE: Edgar Poe was born inEighteen-Oh-Nine. His parents were actors. At that time, actors werenot accepted by the best society. Edgar was a baby when his fatherleft the family. He was two years old when his mother died. He wastaken into the home of a wealthy businessman, John Allan. He thenreceived his new name — Edgar Allan Poe. John Allan neverofficially made Edgar his son. In fact, he came to dislike himstrongly. As a young man, Edgar attended the University of Virginia.He was a good student. But he liked to drink alcohol and play cardgames for money. Edgar was not a good player. He lost money he didnot have. John Allan refused to pay Edgar’s gambling losses. So,Edgar left the university. He began working as a writer and editorfor monthly magazines. VOICE TWO: Edgar Allan Poe worked hard. Hebecame a successful editor. Yet he was not well-paid or well-known.His life was difficult. He was poor, and he was troubled bysicknesses of the body and mind. Poe suffered from depression. Hefeared he was insane. He drank alcohol to escape his fears. Thealcohol had a very bad effect on him. VOICE ONE: At the age oftwenty-seven, he married Virginia Clemm. She was the daughter of hisfather’s sister. She was only thirteen years old. For a time, itseemed that Poe would find some happiness. But his wife was sick formost of their marriage. She died in Eighteen-Forty-Seven. Poe diedtwo years later, at the age of forty. He was found dead in Baltimoreafter days of heavy drinking. ((Haunting music)) VOICE TWO: Throughall his crises, Edgar Allan Poe produced many stories, poems, andworks of criticism. Some of his stories won prizes. Yet he did notbecome famous until Eighteen-Forty-Five. That was when his poem “TheRaven” was published. There is no question that Poe suffered fromemotional problems in his life. One critic said Poe’s spirit wastorn. He said Poe’s stories were often about his own divided nature.Each person in the story showed a different side of the writer.There is a question, however, about Poe’s importance. Some criticssay he was one of America’s best writers. Others disagree. VOICEONE: Critic Vincent Buranelli says Poe discovered a new artisticuniverse. It is a universe of dreams. It is a place where the linebetween reality and unreality is extremely thin. Even those whopraise Poe agree that there are many difficulties in his work. Thesedifficulties place Poe’s writing outside the main body of Americanliterature. Most American writing is realistic. Poe’s interests andway of writing were not realistic at all. Poe’s work has beenpraised most in France. He had a great influence on many Frenchwriters, including the poets Charles-Pierre Baudelaire and StephaneMallarme. VOICE TWO: Poe’s best-known poem is the “The Raven.” Somepeople love it. They say it is like music. Others hate it. They sayit sounds forced and unnatural — like bad music. “The Raven” isabout a man whose great love, Lenore, has died. She is gone forever.But the man cannot accept that all happiness is gone. He sits aloneamong his books late at night. He hears a noise at the window. Hereis the beginning of the poem: ANNOUNCER: Once upon a midnightdreary, while I pondered, weak and weary Over many a quaint andcurious volume of for- gotten lore — While I nodded, nearlynapping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gentlyrapping, rapping at my chamber door. “Tis some visitor, I muttered,”tapping at my chamber door — Only this and nothing more.” VOICETWO: The man looks out the window and sees only blackness.ANNOUNCER: Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood therewondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever daredto dream before: But the silence was unbroken, and the stillnessgave no token, And the only word there spoken was the whisperedword, “Lenore?” This I whispered, and an echo murmured back theword, “Lenore!” Merely this and nothing more. VOICE TWO: But thereis something at the window. It is a large black bird — a raven. Itcomes into the room like the spirit of death and hopelessness. Theraven can speak just one word: ‘nevermore’ — meaning ‘never again’.We know the raven will never leave the man’s room. ANNOUNCER: Butthe Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only That oneword, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Nothingfarther than he uttered — not a feather then he fluttered — Till Iscarcely more than muttered, “Other friends have flown before — Onthe morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.” Thenthe bird said, “Nevermore.” [Pause] ((Scary music)) VOICE ONE: Thisprogram was written by Carolyn Weaver. It was produced by LawanDavis. Our poetry reader was Shep O’Neal. I’m Shirley Griffith.VOICE TWO: And I’m Doug Johnson. Join us again next week for anotherreport about life in the United States on the V-O-A Special Englishprogram THIS IS AMERICA.