I chose to dedicate my time to Mr. Edgar Allen Poe. He remains firmly entrenched in the populist canon. Poe’s idiosyncratic work and polemic style- he’ll write about whatever takes his fancy – have rather made him a piece-meal author. Yet, he has exerted massive influence over modern horror and mystery writing: The Telltale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado are brilliant vignettes. He’s also influenced contemporary rhyme and song – the simple repetitive construct of Annabel Lee is in stark counterpoint to The Raven’s liberties with weight, metre and length.
As homage to Poe’s populist approach, I decided to recite The Raven and a few other works over an acoustic,
bluesy, scale played live. A mix of verse and note. It worked well, by all accounts. Mr. Poe, thank you for an evening of enjoyment.