Nevermore 2009 Events
January 19, 2009 marks the 200th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe and to commemorate this historic milestone, the city of Baltimore will host Nevermore 2009, a yearlong celebration of the life and works of one of Baltimore's most famed residents. The year will be filled with a variety of events, including birthday celebrations, lectures, wine tastings, art exhibitions, theatrical performances, special tours and more. The Nevermore 2009 events are listed below, but please continue to check back as more will be added throughout the year. (Events subject to change.)
Ongoing and open during Library hours
Enoch Pratt Free Library Central Library, 1st Floor Annex
ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY:
EDGAR ALLAN POE: MORE THAN A POET
Stop by the library to view a collection of photographs, letters and
other memorabilia belonging to Edgar Allan Poe from the Enoch Pratt
Free Library's archives. This special exhibition will provide the public
a rare opportunity to view significant artifacts from the Pratt's Poe
Collection. Free. Visit www.prattlibrary.org for more information.
June 15 - September 30
The Edgar Allan Poe Tell-Tale Tour
of Baltimore
Edgar Allan Poe wrote his first horror stories in Baltimore. What was Baltimore like back then? Find out by taking the Edgar Allan Poe Tell-Tale Tour of Baltimore, June 15 through September 30, 2009. Explore Poe's Baltimore through many of the fascinating museums, attractions and tours brought to you by the Greater Baltimore History Alliance. Collect a Raven Trail Guide stamp from at least five attractions and you could win one of several great prizes! Click here for more details.
June 2009
June 13
6 p.m.
Westminster Graveyard
TERROR AMONG THE TOMBS:
THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
Enjoy Poe’s classic tale of insanity and premature burial set among the graves of Westminster graveyard. This theatrical performance will thrill and chill your bones. A bagpipe tribute will open the program which will be followed by a brief discourse on the history of Westminster delivered by Baltimore’s premier historian, Dean Krimmel. He will touch upon the many historic figures that now rest in its hallowed grounds.
Frank the Body Snatcher, a living history presentation, will be the host for the event. Frank will share his adventures in and out of the graves that he visited as the “resurrection man” for the University of Maryland’s first medical school, Davidge Hall. Characters from Poe’s stories will mingle among the living during seating.
Enter the outdoor theater though the ghastly Westminster catacombs. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and cozy up to a tombstone. Refreshments available. Seating is limited. Adult seating only. Fee. 410-396-7932 or www.poebicentennial.com.
June 27
12-3 p.m.
Harborplace Amphitheater
CITY SAND - A RAVEN GOOD TIME!
One of the annual Summer events at Harborplace & The Gallery, City Sand features local teams of architects, builders, and other design professionals who design and create multi-dimensional, spectacular sand sculptures. Live musical entertainment and a special sand box for children to the in the summer time fun are also planned. The 2009 theme is inspired by the City’s celebration of the 200th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe.
July 2009
July 1 – September 12
Mount Clare Museum House: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
Homewood Museum: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 12-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
The Macabre Aside: Poe on “The Philosophy of Furniture”
This special tour offered at Mount Clare Museum House and Homewood Museum features Edgar Allan Poe’s 1840 essay criticizing Americans’ decorative shortcomings. In the tongue-in-cheek tour, visitors will be able to contrast a finely decorated period home with the master of the macabre’s opinions about good taste in furnishings. At Mount Clare: Tours begin on the hour 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. At Homewood: Tours begin on the half-hour 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 12-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
July 17-19
Friday and Saturday noon–10 p.m.; Sunday noon–8 p.m.
Mount Vernon
ARTSCAPE: THE PLAY'S THE THING
In 2009, Artscape, the largest free public arts festival in the country, will include a special tribute to Edgar Allan Poe. See a list of special Poe-related performances. The outdoor festival features 150+ artists, fashion designers and craftspeople; visual art exhibits on and off-site, including exhibitions, outdoor sculpture, art cars, photography and the Janet & Walter Sondheim Prize; incredible live concerts on four outdoor stages; a full schedule of performing arts including dance, opera, theater, fashion, film, experimental music and performances by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; family events such as hands-on projects, demonstrations, competitions, children’s entertainers and multiple street theater locations; and a delicious, international menu of food and beverages that is available throughout the festival site. Visit www.artscape.org for more information.
September 2009
September 11
5:30 p.m. Gates open; 7:30 p.m. Film
Evergreen Museum & Library
Poe in Motion Outdoor Film Screening
Evergreen Museum & Library presents a double-feature of classic Poe adaptations as interpreted for the big screen by Vincent Price. The first floor of the museum will be open before the al fresco screening, featuring the special exhibition, Modernism at Evergreen: Erno Fabry (1906-1984), and a display of Poe-related material from the John Work Garrett Library. Visitors may bring a picnic to eat on the lawn, and refreshments also will be available for purchase. General admission tickets are $8, children under 12 are $5, and infants and Evergreen members are free. Rain location: Carriage House. Programming details are still being finalized; please visit www.museums.jhu.edu/evergreen for up-to-date information.
September 25-27
Friday and Saturday noon-8 p.m.; Sunday noon-7 p.m.
Mount Vernon Place
BALTIMORE BOOK FESTIVAL
The mid-Atlantic’s premier celebration of the literary arts features well-known authors, local bookstores, publishers, children’s writers, storytellers, author signings, crafts, refreshments and entertainment. The 2009 Baltimore Book Festival will salute Edgar Allan Poe in celebration of his 200th birthday.
September 21-October 4
Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.,
and Sundays at 7 p.m.
Baltimore Theatre Project
45 West Preston Street
POE IN PERSON
Critically acclaimed actor David Keltz presents his one-man show, “POE In Person,” in a two-week residency at Baltimore Theatre Project. Feast your imagination on Poe’s masterpieces with veteran Poe actor David Keltz in his multi-character solo tour de force recreations of Poe’s ingenious tales of humor and horror, his romantic poetry, and his incisive literary criticism.
Scheduled performances between September 21 and October 4, 2009 are Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are $20, seniors and artists are $15, and student tickets are $10.
September 25
7 p.m.
National Museum of Dentistry
Berenice at the National Museum of Dentistry
Dare to discover one man’s maniacal obsession with his betrothed’s gleaming white teeth in a performance of Edgar Allan Poe’s controversial horror story Berenice. Explore an exhibit about 19th century dentistry and take an after-hours tour of this one-of-a-kind museum. Refreshments included. Enjoy a theatrical performance of Berenice, Edgar Allan Poe’s controversial short horror story that follows one man’s maniacal obsession with his betrothed’s gleaming white teeth. The museum will feature a small exhibit on 19th century dentistry with a focus on Baltimore during Edgar Allan Poe’s lifetime and the establishment of the world’s first dental school here in 1840. A slide show of historic images and artifacts includes a look at grave robbing to sell teeth for dentures. Tours of the museum will be offered after the performance or groups can explore on their own. Refreshments will be provided and are included in the price of admission to the event. Fee.
October 2009
October 3
Time TBD
Baltimore Clayworks
CLAYFEST!
Baltimore Clayworks invites the community to participate in hands-on clay activities, firing the wheel and throwing at the Mount Washington campus free of charge. To celebrate Edgar Allan Poe, help create a collaborative Raven piece.
October 4, 2009 – January 17, 2010
The Baltimore Museum of Art
ART OF DARKNESS: INSPIRED BY POE
The Baltimore Museum of Art presents a dramatic exhibition of works by some of the greatest artists of the 19th and 20th centuries who were inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling and unforgettable tales. Drawn largely from the BMA’s renowned collection, these rarely seen prints, drawings, and illustrated books explore the enduring legacy of Poe's uniquely dark fiction on modern artists. Included in the exhibition are vivid illustrations for The Raven by Edouard Manet and a haunting portrait of Poe by Henri Matisse. The exhibition also features works by contemporary artists from Maryland responding to the universal themes taken up in Poe’s poems and stories—love, loss, silence, obsession, and terror. Film screenings, performances, and writing and poetry workshops will complement the exhibition.
October 7 – date of Poe’s death
Private viewing, family and friends only – 9-11 a.m.
Public viewing – Noon-11 p.m.
Edgar Allan Poe House in Mourning
VIEWING OF POE'S BODY
This will be the public's only opportunity to view Poe's body before interment alongside his grandfather, grandmother and brother Henry in Westminster cemetery on Saturday October 10.
October 7
Midnight to 6 a.m.
Westminster Graveyard
CANDLELIGHT VIGIL AT THE POE MONUMENT
Beginning at midnight, join hundreds of people as a vigil is held at Poe's grave. Throughout the vigil, celebrities and members of the public will get a chance to read excerpts from Poe's works or just read their own tribute to Poe at his gravesite. Free.
October 10
Two services – noon and 4:30 p.m.
Westminster Hall
POE'S FUNERAL SERVICE
A horse-drawn funeral hearse will bring Poe's body from his home on Amity Street to the Westminster Hall for burial services. A drum and fife corps will lead the procession. The funeral service will include musical selections performed by a pianist, soloist, violinist and a choir. Guest speakers will include five people who knew Poe, "legacies" such as "Alfred Hitchcock," "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle," "Charles Baudelaire" and "H. G. Wells" will present eulogies. Invited representatives from the literary, stage and movie industries will present their own eulogies for Poe. Tributes from ambassadors from many countries will also be read.
Additional information to be announced.
October 15
6:30 p.m.
Enoch Pratt Free Library - Central Library Poe Room
Poe: 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe
Ellen Datlow, editor of "Poe: 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe," will be reading selections from the collection along with three of the authors whose pieces are also included in the collection.
October 31
8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
Strand Theatre 1823 N. Charles Street
Spoon River Anthologies at 8PM
David Keltz performing as Edgar Allan Poe at 11PM
Admission: TBA
info@strandtheatercompany.org
November 2009
November (date to be announced)
Time – to be announced
Location – to be announced
THE TELL TALE HEART COURT CASE
Did you ever wonder what happened to the narrator in The Tell Tale Heart? Did he stand trial? Was he found guilty or innocent by reason of insanity? Witness the chilling confession of the accused as he relates why and how he murdered an old man. A retired or sitting judge, a prosecutor, a defense attorney and the arresting police officer will conduct the case. The audience will be the jury.
