Saturday, January 19, 2013

Happy Birthday, Dear Edgar



Last October, on the last day of October in fact, a friend sent a video of Jeff Buckley reciting Edgar Allan Poe's, "Ulalume." I was not familiar with it, or had long forgotten it. Either way, Buckley's reading is the perfect introduction. It's beautiful and mesmerizing, and today is Poe's birthday, so it seems like a good time to bring it out, especially on this cold and windy night. I purposely chose a video of Poe's photo only as, I believe, unembellished listening is a better option here. I hope you like it, too. Happy Birthday dear Edgar, poet of extraordinary insight.









That beautiful girl is Mrs. Poe, Virginia.

6 comments:

  1. I have read every word EAP ever wrote---all of his stories, poems, and literary criticism. I'm now doing the same for Herman Melville. Have you read any of his poetry?

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    1. You're way ahead of me, but I intend to right that wrong with a winter of reading classics. I will include the poetry of Melville. Thank You!

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  2. Poe is one of my favorite poet-authors.

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  3. Love Jeff Buckley's interpretation of Poe's poem. Another favorite of Buckley's is his singing of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'. Great story behind the song and Buckley.
    Stunning painting of Virginia Poe!

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    1. Isn't that wonderful? Jeff's version of Hallelujah is definitive. I've posted it and read the story I believe you're referring to. Very interesting....

      Isn't that a beautiful portrait? I couldn't resist including it.

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