This beautiful life-sized bronze of Edgar Allan Poe with an enormous raven is Stefanie Rocknak's competition-winning entry for the Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston's Edgar Allan Poe Square Public Art Project. It beat out 265 other pieces in the competition. Rocknak is also a professor of philosophy at New York's Hartwick College, and describes her work as depicting Poe "just off the train, the figure would be walking south towards his place of birth, where his mother and father once lived. Poe, with a trunk full of ideas — and worldwide success — is finally coming home."
Today's jam is Closed on Account of Rabies: Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe , which features Christopher Walken's reading of "The Raven," Iggy Pop performing " The Tell-Tale Heart," Debbie Harry doing "The City And The Sea," Marianne Faithfull's rendition of "Alone" and "Annabel Lee," and loads more improbably fantastic stuff.
Commissioning and commemorating a statue of the macabre man, though, has been perhaps less of a challenge than those Poe faced throughout his life, including his literary battles and frequent bouts with alcohol. Armed with a budget of approximately $200,000 and a bevy of buoyant benefactors, ranging from the Edward Ingersoll Browne Trust Fund and George B. Henderson Foundation Fund for the City of Boston to Boloco and Stephen King, the foundation hopes to unveil the finished product between June and October – perfectly timed for the eeriness of New England's autumn.
The designated site of the the statue is at the corner of Boylston Street and Charles Street South, which Lewis explains was named "Edgar Allan Poe Square in April 2009" by Mayor Menino, who further "installed a historic street sign, and called for the creation of a permanent work of art in the square."
For those looking to get involved and perhaps cushion the funding, donations of any amount can be made online at the foundation's website here. And, if you're a literary nerd like myself, and are interested in a keepsake, the foundation is offering a special edition Poe bobble head on eBay as a premium gift for a donation of $60, which includes domestic shipping.
'Nevermore' Forevermore: Bringing Edgar Allan Poe Back to Boston [Nick DeLuca/Streetwise]
(via Kelly the Mortal Girl)
