Oct 31

Oct 31 Nevermore

Once upon a midnight dreary…

I started compiling images for a blog post about Edgar Allan Poe based on his most famous poem, The Raven. Poe has been inspiring artists of all kinds for well over a century, myself included.

Hester Kamin' tuxedo cat, Blossom, channeling Edgar Allan Poe. — “Mysterious as a Cat” © Kate Wagle Hitmar. October 4, 2021. All rights reserved.

This is a pen-&-ink and watercolor portrait of Blossom, the tuxedo cat companion of Hester Kamin, my dear friend and fellow Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts alum. Blossom is channeling Edgar Allan Poe in his quintessential Victorian suit. I created this as part of Inktober 2021. It was used to help promote the performance, “The Madness of Poe”, at Synetic Theater in Alexandria, VA this October.

I remember the first time I heard Poe’s The Raven. The teacher pulled out a book, and without asking us to settle down, began reciting it in a hushed whisper. By the end of the first stanza, you could have heard a pin drop. My peers and I were captivated. Up to that point, poems had been sing-songy nursery rhymes and silly jokes. But Poe! He and his writing were macabre, mysterious, and downright wicked cool. His words sent chills down our spines and kept us at the edge of our seats.

The Raven led to more Poe poems—Annabel Lee, Lenore, Alone—and then onto his short stories—Telltale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Cask of Amontillado, The Black Cat, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, to name a few. His manipulation of rhyme and rhythm and his ability to build suspense and anticipation made him a quick favorite. These works felt like the hospitality mat of adulthood was being laid out for us, that the adults were finally sharing the good stuff with us. Poe’s works still stick with me to this day. As soon as the chill of fall hits, I hear in a hushed whisper,

“Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

On this cold and crisp Halloween, I hope these works, created by talented artists designers, and even a biologist, transport you back to the first time you heard or read Edgar Allan Poe’s work, and that you are delightfully haunted by his ghost, I mean, words. If you suddenly hear “a tapping, as of some one gently rapping, rapping at [your] chamber door. Tis [probably some tricker-or-treaters], Only this, and nothing more.” Until my next post, have a Safe and Happy Halloween!