February 13, 2014 | Theatre,

Poe Was Born Right Next to Us! & Other Facts

 

As we gear up to welcome Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental’s production of RED-EYE to HAVRE de GRACE, I have personally discovered some mind-blowing facts about Edgar Allan Poe and his relationship with Boston. The Master of the Macabre, Poe was a literary genius, and the pioneer of modern-day popular culture — and it all started on the streets we walk through every day.

1) EAP was born at 62 Carver Street (now Charles St. South) in 1809. The apartment building was razed in 1959, and guess what it is now?

2) He came from a family of actors. His mother and grandmother, Eliza Arnold and Elizabeth Arnold, were widely celebrated in the Boston area.

3) The great thinkers and literary artists of the time (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, etc.) criticized Poe, calling him “a simple, vulgar jingle-writer.” Poe, who hated their didactic, moralistic way of thought, in turn called them “Frogpondians,” comparing their voices to the croaking sounds from Frog Pond in the Boston Common.

4) His face is on the corner of Boylston & Charles St right across from the Boloco.

 5) In fact, that square is named in his honor: Edgar Allan Poe Square

Feel free to swing by the square before or after you see RED-EYE — it’s only a stone’s throw away.

RED-EYE to HAVRE de GRACE will play at the Emerson/Paramount Center Mainstage  from Feb 13-16. For more information and tickets, visit our website here.