Edgar Allan Poe, and Three Awards

Thank you blogger friends!

Thank you to Gina at Diary of a Writer in Progress for the Fabulous Blog Ribbon and the Be Inspired Award!




And Melanie at Feather Pens, Tartan Dreams for the Illuminating Blogger Award!


I always have trouble with the passing on the awards part - everyone's got such colourful, detailed, entertaining, exciting blogs! Pick up an award or ribbon if you happen to have come by - perhaps you'd like to mention my ongoing Show me the Words! contest - there's still time to enter!

It seems all I've got to do is share one random fact about myself. Actually, I've got Ten Things I've Done That No One Else Has! One of the items off that list was: While working as a girl friday at a fashion magazine, I gave myself the authority to pull an ad just days before publication, because they had spelled Hemingway with two Ms! I called the company and suggested it'd be better if they changed it...

Speaking of Hemingway, I've got photos to share from another author's house - Poe's house in Philadelphia, which I visited on Fourth of July weekend:
 
Poe lived for a few years in the house on the left

here's the back garden

and the back door


sign outside the house

massive mural outside the house (and me!)

bit of an explanation, about how Poe lived here with his wife Virginia and his aunt/mother-in-law

imagine the street beyond full of horses, carriages, market vendors...

the door from the kitchen to the cellar, which featured in the story The Black Cat

the reading room, designed by the historic site according to his specifications

another view of the reading room


I learned that Baudelaire translated many of Poe's works into French

King, on Poe

Wilde, on Poe

Poe, with a cat (mural on an inside wall)

printed copy of a poem Virginia wrote to Poe

"And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door!"


one last thing - a sign a few blocks down, about the Barrymores; you learn something new every day!

Which authors' homes have you visited?

P.S.: ROW80 update: I've been getting a bit discouraged again, but still keeping up with my morning pages. Nutschell gave me a great idea though - it's not that I'm ignoring Ayten and her story, it's that I'm gaining distance from the manuscript.

Comments

S.P. Bowers said…
I didn't know Baudelaire translated Poe into French. Very Cool.

Thanks for this. I Loved seeing more of Poe.
Zan Marie said…
Wonderful pics, Deniz! Talk about fascinating blogs--yours is tops!
Nan said…
Thanks for the wonderful tour. I didn't realize it was preserved on the inside too. What a sad, sad story the dates show. That old woman who lived to be 81, while Poe and his wife died so young. I don't know much about him, and I haven't read anymore than I had to in school. Not my favorite kind of reading. I have thought of reading the Matthew Pearl book, The Poe Shadow.
Nan said…
Oh, and good for you in dealing with the wrong spelling!!
Suzanne Lilly said…
Congrats on your awards! That's a funny story about the mispelling of Hemingway. I saw a documentary about Poe's house recently, and thought it would be fun to visit. Thanks for sharing all the pictures. That must have been a nice way to spend the 4th.
Nadja Notariani said…
I'm sorry to hear you're getting discouraged. I have to distance myself at times from a project also. When I return, I often feel better equipped to sort through my tangled mass of words. Lol.

Lovely images. Thanks for sharing.
Golden Eagle said…
Aw, I'm sorry to hear you've been feeling discouraged. Hope you're inspired soon instead!

Congratulations on the awards.

I love all the pictures--that's an interesting house.
Raelyn Barclay said…
An interesting walk through Poe's world. I never really got into his works beyond the reading I did in school. Great pictures.

Congrats on the awards. I know what you mean about trying to pass them on. So many fabulous bloggers!

Sorry you're feeling discouraged. I hope the distance and Morning Pages help! Wishing you a better week.
Denise Covey said…
Don't be discouraged Deniz. Your day will come!
Love the awards. Congrats to you!
I love visiting author's homes. In Paris I visited the apartment that used to belong to Hemingway and just down the street was the rather grander mansion of James Joyce. I'd love to wander the Lake District in England and see where some of my literary idols lived and wrote.

I've currently got up a post re using Google etc images at the risk of being sued. Come to think of it, even those awards can be a problem.
Come over if you have time and see what you think.

Denise
DL Hammons said…
Congrats on all the blog bling! You wear it well!! :)
David P. King said…
I've always been a huge fan of Poe's work. :)
Anonymous said…
Thanks for the shout out Deniz! :)

When we went to Philly a few years ago, we didn't have time to get to the Poe house, so thank you for the mini-tour. I love browsing through the pictures on your blog.

Hope you get over the discouraged feeling. Sometimes we just need to take a short break, gain perspective and get back to it. Good luck!
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks so much, Sara and Zan Marie!

Thanks for coming by, Nan. I thought it was sad, too. I'd forgotten that Poe died so soon after, and in mysterious circumstances.

Thanks, Suzanne and Nadja and Eagle!

Hope you're having a good week, too, Raelyn!

I've visited Shakespeare and Company in Paris, Denise, but haven't seen Joyce or Hemingway's house yet. I did go to Dove Cottage some years ago, though!
Still working on clearing up the images on my blog...

Aww, thanks, DL!

Thanks for coming by, David!

Thanks so much, Melanie!
Carol Riggs said…
Hmm, maybe gaining distance from your ms is a good thing? It might help you see it more objectively (as long as you have enough passion left to write it!). Congrats on your awards! :)
Anonymous said…
I don't think I've visited any authors' houses, but I'd like to.

Distance from a manuscript can be very helpful. I've been away from manuscripts for days, weeks, and even months--sometimes this is intentional and other times unintentional, when I'm blocked or have other things to do.

Congrats on the awards.
Michael Di Gesu said…
Hi, Denize,

I really enjoyed this post. Poe is one of my favorite authors. His wife's poem is amazing!

I visited Hemingway's house in Key West at the beginning of February. Very interesting.

And if you count this fantastic bar/restaurant called WILDE that I frequent in Chicago, that makes two. LOL. This is THE coolest place, although it has a sports bar feel, there is a library section to sit at that features the works of Oscar Wilde nestled by a roaring fire. So cool.
Deniz Bevan said…
Thank you Carol and Medeia - I really do hope this distance turns out to be worth it. And that the new story has teeth...

Ooh, thanks, Michael! I'll have to add Wilde to the ever-growing list of things to do when we visit Chicago!