iPoe Challenge review: A Descent into the Maelström

Feeling guilty that I’ve overlooked my iPoe Reading Challenge all summer, and impressed by the remarkable progress that Kristen has made on her own Poe Fridays reading project (good job Kristen!), I set about getting myself back on track and reacquainting myself with the Gothic master, with the long overdue reading of a Poe [...]

iPoe Challenge review: The Premature Burial

It’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure of reposing in my reading chair with an Edgar Allan Poe short, so feeling a bit guilty about that I settled down earlier today with a tale as its name suggests, that focuses on the abhorrent thought of premature burial (brrr..goose pimples).
I remember watching [...]

iPoe Challenge review: Von Kempelen and His Discovery

What kind of Poe fan would I be if I didn’t read at least one of his stories on his anniversary? Answer – a bad one! So I took it upon myself to read the next story in my iPoe reading list – Von Kempelen and His Discovery.
I know it’s just down to the [...]

Happy Birthday Edgar!

Two hundred years ago today in Boston, Massachusetts, the world was graced by the birth of one of the greatest literary figures in history, Edgar Allan Poe. In tribute I thought I’d take a look around at some of the events scheduled to mark Poe’s bicentennial celebrations.

iPoe Challenge review: The Balloon-Hoax

With only 6 days to go until the 200th anniversary of Edgar’s birth you may have thought I’d forgotten all about my iPoe reading challenge, but I haven’t. Way too many commitments pushed my progress through this to the back, but today I managed to read my way through The Balloon-Hoax, and to be honest [...]

iPoe Challenge review: The Gold-Bug

The narrator relates the tale of a friend, William Legrand, who following the discovery of a bug made of solid-gold, seemingly heads down a path of insanity as his demeanor and character rapidly begin to change. Legrand’s apparent bout of insanity culminates when he takes a trip with his Negro attendant Jupiter and the [...]

iPoe Challenge review: The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall

Briefly, the story follows Hans Pfaall, a madcap schemer, who concocts a plan to get himself out of financial difficulty by travelling to the moon in a balloon. The story opens with an apparent alien visitor emerging from the clouds in a balloon, and dropping the written account of Hans Pfaall’s lunar trip on [...]

iPoe Reading Challenge progress

Apologies to those tuning in to follow the progress on my recently launched iPoe Challenge, only to find I’ve not made a lot of progress really. What would seem like a dormant reading challenge is actually quite the opposite. I’ve been busy converting all of the stories (with the exception of Narrative of A. Gordon [...]

Nevermore 2009: Poe’s bicentennial celebration event announced

The official Edgar Allan Poe bicentennial event – Nevermore 2009, is announced in Baltimore