My Friend Edgar.

One of the best things about talking with your grown children is finding outt what they were thinking back when they, and we, were both younger.

This photo is of My daughter, Sarah, at Edgar Allan Poe's grave in Baltimore, around 1997. We used to stop there on the way to Ft McHenry, where we spent alot of time, flying kites, or just horsing around.  This is her view of those visits to Poe's grave. It was written 10 years ago.

"Me at the burial site of Edgar Allan Poe, Westminster Hall, in Baltimore, MD. My dad used to take me there on weekend afternoons. This was my favorite of all the old graveyards we visited. I would run around and look at the cool and interesting graves with him.

I especially enjoyed looking for cracks and holes that... would allow me to peak into the old mausoleums. Before leaving, we would always stop at Poe's grave and say farewell.

I didn't understand the significance of that place until I was much older and had read many of Poe's works. I had always thought that he was just some dude my dad used to be friends with!"

Rooftop's Cover Story - The Other Washington Monument

This is the monument from which the masthead photo for Rooftop Reviews was taken. If you're reading this I assume that you have noticed that photo before. My only problem with it is the size. It's too big and I have thought of replacing it, but the photo has a special place in my heart. Let me tell you about it...

I was living in Baltimore in 1983 when I met my wife, Sue. I lived 2 blocks from the Washington Monument- no, not the one in Washington, D.C., but the first one, built with public lottery funds. Beginning in 1799, $100,000 was collected, and in 1815 work was begun. In 1829 the 178 foot tall Doric column with Washington standing atop, opened to the public. They thronged to ascend the 228 steps to the top of the city's highest vantage point of the time.

It is still one of the most beautiful of the many monuments in Baltimore. Sue and I used to walk and talk there in the evenings when we were first seeing one another. After a while I tricked her into marrying me and we moved out to the County to raise our family.

Fast forward to about 1994. The Monument had been closed for some years due to interior structural problems. A Citizens Committee had resolved these issues and the Monument (located on Monument and Charles Streets) was now open again. You could, for a $1 contribution, climb to the top. And so, we did. Sue took several photos looking in all directions. My favorite is this one- looking North up Charles St.

In the foreground and to the right is the Methodist Church made with green stone from local quarries. The Church sits across from the unseen Peabody Institute of Music and the Walthers Art Gallery. Looking further to the rear and in the center is the 13 story Belvedere Hotel which was also home to the Engineers Society of Maryland at the time. The whole monument sits in an oasis of a park that bisects Charles Street.

The best part of the memory associated with this photo is the actual climb up a circular stairway reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty. The brick and mortar interior was eerie and a little damp- ideal in the summertime, cool- like a cave. With several openings at different levels there were some beautiful vistas of the harbor and surrounding areas. But I always liked the view from the top best of all.

I think it's because we made the climb with me carrying our daughter most of the way. And when we were done we were so exhausted, coming out into the heat of a summer’s day. But it's something that we did together and really enjoyed. The original of this photo hangs in our bedroom. It serves as a reminder to us of all the climbs we have made together through the years.

"The Bookworm" - MGM (1939)

A storm and an old mansion are the setting for this 1939 MGM cartoon. As the clock expires from exhaustion in the wee hours of the night a storm rages outside. And as it does the inhabitants of many of the books in the library come out to play. The witches from Shakespeare’s Macbeth get Poe’s Raven to hunt for a worm to complete the making of one of their “brews.” Since this is a library the Raven looks in the books for a bookworm.

Finding one isn’t too hard, but keeping him captive proves to be a mammoth task for all concerned. The action is non-stop as the Raven and his cronies attempt to outsmart the bookworm. But remember, he’s spent a lot of time in and around books, so he has a few tricks of his own to fall back on. Great story and animation mark this one as a real keeper.

Although the cartoon was actually directed by Friz Freleng, Hugh Harman got the screen credit. The voice of the Raven is none other than the incomparable Mel Blanc.

"Rot, Riot and Rebellion" by Rex Bowman and Carlos Santos (2013)

When Thomas Jefferson first stated that “the tree of Liberty needs watered from time to time with the blood of tyrants” I don’t think he ever envisioned himself in the role of the Tyrant. But that is exactly what happened when he was forced to confront the students at his dream, the University of Virginia in 1825, just one year before his death.

Discipline at the school was non-existent; the idea being that young gentlemen could be trusted to act upon their honor. And act they did. These sons of southern aristocratic plantation owners had such thin skins; and thickly inflated senses of honor; that they were in a perpetual state of dueling with one another, and even there professors.

Such was the situation that Jefferson, only one year prior to his death in 1826, was forced on occasion, to make the 8 mile journey from his home at Monticello, to the University in order to quell the problems there. On one such occasion he was struck speechless and broke into tears. It was hard for him to see his dream school begin its life in a state of disgrace. To make matters worse, one of the leaders of the student rebellion was his own grand-nephew.

The story behind that day and how it came to be in the first place; is the subject of this wonderful little book by Messrs. Bowman and Santos as they explore the beginnings of Jefferson’s dream of higher education in what is considered to be America’s first public University.

From its first conception by Jefferson as the first public university in America the whole idea was plagued with problems and disagreements about how, and who, should fund it. The authors give a very accurate accounting of all the machinations which went into the project.

But by far the most enjoyable portion of the book is the story of its first few decades of students. They flogged their professors, misused their servants, drank to excess, gambled profanely, and otherwise did their best to squander their own futures as well as Mr. Jefferson’s dream.

The story of how the student body was finally tamed, and how the school became the model of Mr. Jefferson’s original vision make this book a very worthy chronicle of the history of higher education in America. And, through the antics of some its earliest alumni; including Edgar Allan Poe; it is also just plain fun to read it, and realize that, with the exception of the students having servants, not much has changed in regards to student life in the almost two centuries since Jefferson’s experiment first came into being.

"Annabel Lee" by E.A.Poe as performed by Sarah Jarosz

Yesterday's newspaper brought word of this 20 year old acoustic musician to my attention. Sarah Jarosz is making herself heard, and known, as a fine musician and performer. This evening will mark her first appearance in Charlotte at one of my favorite venues, Neighborhood Theatre. Having not heard of this remarkable young woman before I went to You Tube and found several very nice arrangements of some well-known songs and ballads. But of all the songs I listened to, this is the one that got me.

Annabel Lee, which seems to be spelled several different ways, depending on where you look, (I have used the spelling from the 1940 Washington Square Press edition of "Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe") is one of my favorite poems by Poe, and is probably the first one of his works I ever heard. It has that "sing-song" type of cadence to it which makes it perfect for the second grade, which is where I first heard it. That was 50 years ago.(Thanks, Mrs. Sanders!) But Ms. Jarosz has given it a new and unique quality. Her arrangement actually adds to the drama and mystique of the poem. It was an unexpected treat.

Ms. Jarosz, who is not yet 21, has already performed with Bela Fleck, Shawn Colvin and Vince Gill. That’s quite impressive for someone of her age. Keep your eye on her as her career continues to rise. She covers everyone from Edgar Allan Poe to Tom Waits, as well as writing some of her own compositions. For more information about this Ms. Jarosz, including booking info, use this link;

http://sarahjarosz.com/

"Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe

It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea;
But we loved with a love that was more than love-
I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me-
Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we-
Of many far wiser than we-
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,
In the sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.

"Midnight Dreary" By John Evangelist Walsh

What could be more perfect than a mystery about the man who invented the genre? I read this book in 1998 when it first came out. Seeing it on the shelf at the library was like bumping into an old friend. We just had to get together again.

Poe was traveling from Richmond to New York by steamboat and landed in Baltimore when he disappeared for several days in late September and early October of 1849. He was found on the morning of October 4th badly in need of medical attention and dressed in old rags which were surely not his own.

What happened in the last days of his life is an eternal mystery. There are several versions, the most prevalent being that he was given drink and "cooped" with several of Baltimores lower inhabitants the night before Election Day in October, 1849. That he was found in the 4th Ward and outside Ryan's Tavern gives creedence to this version. It has always been the one that I have adhered to. He was stupified with drink and taken from polling place to polling place to vote the ticket he was instructed to.

But Mr. Walsh explores other avenues, while not entirely dismissing the Election night version. For instance, he has identified the mysterious "Reynolds" whom Poe called out for in his last hours. There was a Henry R. Reynolds present at Ryan's Fourth Ward in the Gunners Hall section of Baltimore in the days preceding the election and coinciding with Poes absence. But there was also a Jeremiah Reynolds, who was one of the leading characters in Poes longest work, the 180 page mini novel "The Strange Adventures of A. Gordon Pym, Late of Nantucket." Which Reynolds was Poe calling out to in his delerium? The fictious Reynolds, or the Ward Heeler?

A fascinating read no matter what your opinion is of Poes disappearance and subsequent death. The book captures the city in the mid 1800's flawlessy and delves into areas not usually associated with the great writers death. For fans of Poe this is the JFK of it's time. And like the mystery in Dallas, I hope they never solve it. The speculation is simply too much fun.

My Friend Edgar- A Daughters' View

My wife, Sue, alerted me to the following post on my daughters Facebook site. It's about Edgar Allan Poes' grave in Baltimore, which we used to stop by frequently as it was downtown and on the way to Ft McHenry, where we spent alot of time. This is her view of those visits and I love her for posting it...

Sarah Ruth Hoffman - Me at the burial site of Edgar Allan Poe, Westminster Hall, in Baltimore, MD. My dad used to take me there on weekend afternoons. This was my favorite of all the old graveyards we visited. I would run around and look at the cool and interesting graves with him. I especially enjoyed looking for cracks and holes that... would allow me to peak into the old mausoleums. Before leaving, we would always stop at Poe's grave and say farewell. I didn't understand the significance of that place until I was much older and had read many of Poe's works. I had always thought that he was just some dude my dad used to be friends with!