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Since 1923, the Poe Society has sponsored an annual commemorative lecture on the life and/or works of Edgar Allan Poe, presented by a noted Poe scholar. This lecture is always held on the first Sunday in October, more-or-less coinciding with the anniversary of Poe’s death. As part of this event, it has been traditional for members of the Poe Society to gather at Poe’s grave, placing flowers on the monument in a brief and informal ceremony to honor Poe’s memory.
This Poe Society event is free and open to the public.
Sunday, October 6, 2024:
Note: This year, we are blending our annual event in with the Poe Festival, sponsored by Poe Baltimore and the Baltimore Poe House and Museum. Consequently, the timing of various events has been altered from previous years.
The programs for the annual membership mailing were printed with the incorrect of October 3 instead of October 6. A number were mailed before the error was noticed and subsequently hand corrected.
12:30 p.m. - 102nd Commemorative Edgar Allan Poe Lecture
For those who cannot make it to Baltimore to attend the festival in person, the annual lecture will again be held as a virtual presentation via Zoom conference, broadcasting from Westminster Hall. Register in advance for the this virtual presentation of the Poe Society’s Annual Edgar Allan Poe Commemorative Program (2024) by clicking the link below:
https://book.peek.com/s/43e841c2-02f5-4e8a-926e-1c9d471488c9/BqVRy
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting via computer or audio only, or a ticket for the in person event, depending on which option was selected. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required.
For those who wish to attend in person, the event will be held at Westminster Hall, at the corner of Fayette and Greene streets. Tickets are required, but there is no charge for members of the Poe Society. It is still necessary, however, to register through the same link above. (This arrangement is a bit complicated because, while the Poe Festival itself is generally free, the lecture this year is tied to the dedication ceremony for new plaques in the cemetery, and there is a charge for the public at large.)
Location: Live ZOOM event (details above)
Welcome, and Introduction of the Speaker
Address: “Gothic Mycology and Posthuman Ethics in Poe's ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ ” by Ashley Kniss (Associate Professor and Director of Writing, Department of English, Stevenson University).
Abstract of the lecture:
In light of the recent popularity of fungi in ecohorror literature and film, this presentation coins the term “Gothic mycology” to describe instances of human-fungal hybridity that suggest posthuman entanglement and symbiosis, using Edgar Allan Poe's “The Fall of the House of Usher” as an early and exemplary instance of its use. Gothic mycology is frightening due to the very nature of fungi themselves: they resist categories, being more closely related to animals than plant life; they proliferate at seemingly unnatural rates; they grow in darkness; they are agents of decomposition; they are mysterious, chthonic, and Other. However, Gothic mycology is also inherently hopeful, offering a glimpse of how we might reimagine our entanglement with the nonhuman that goes beyond mere posthuman hybridity, and embraces instead a novel becoming. Poe's tale undermines anthropocentric individualism and prioritizes human entanglement through the fungal colonization of both house and human. In doing so, Poe's tale transgresses the boundary of what defines the human and suggests the necessity, perhaps more accurately, the current reality of our hybrid, dependent, and symbiotic relationship with the more-than-human.
Response/Discussion and Questions from the audience. (moderated by the host)
2:00 p.m. - Wreath Laying at Poe's Grave
In addition to the annual commemorative program, new display plaques for the cemetery are being dedicated.
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[S:1 - JAS] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Poe Society - Annual Commemorative Lecture