I saw the bells bells bells bells bells

(well, the words....)

I was planning to head home after my day in DC, but I heard of an exhibition in Baltimore that was nearing its end, and I knew I couldn't miss it: The Enigmatic Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore and Beyond.

(May I pause here to remind Periods 2,4,5 that "enigma" was a first semester vocab word so you get why it applies to Poe.) I learned and viewed a lot that was new and I think exciting.

The exhibit was in the George Peabody Library in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. The Peabody Institute is affiliated with Johns Hopkins University--it's the place for the right-brained group of students who excel in the arts.

This is looking up at the many floors of old books (nothing published after 1930) housed in the Peabody Library---that's what this particular library is known for. Only the staff is allowed to go to these floors to retrieve the books.

This is not where the exhibit was, but I wanted to share this awesome part of the Peabody Library.

While I learned more about Poe and his life at this exhibit, I want to save some of that information for when I travel to some other cities with which he is affiliated. I'll tell you first about the start of his fame as a writer, which did occur in Baltimore.

Poe submitted an early short story entitled "MS in a Bottle" to the Baltimore Saturday Visitor, a newspaper which was sponsoring a writing contest. I just read the story--it's a horror-filled sea adventure. It has a flavor of "The Most Dangerous Game" (which you read) at the beginning  combined with The Odyssey (which you will read)--no spoilers from me! Well, as you may have guessed, Poe won first prize and $50.00. He was on his way to literary fame.

A portion of the story "MS In a Bottle"

The top part of the Baltimore Saturday Visitor where the story was published

The second share I have is the most exciting for us-----the original manuscript of "The Bells"!!!!!

"Hear the sledges with the bells-Silver Bells"...."To the TINTINNABULATION that so musically wells..." (Did you use that word at home like I told you to do?)

There's so much more to say about Poe, but I will save that for another time. I will leave you with one final portion of the exhibit:

A lock of his hair---because it was there....... and everyone needs to see the hair that was on the head that housed the brain of a literary genius. You're welcome.

Coming up on Saturday...the debut of "Stanza Saturday"----BC student poems unveiled