An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe

An Evening With Edgar Allan Poe

Campbell Harmon as Edgar Allan Poe and myself at the Hagaman Memorial Library. Photo credit to Dana

Around the third week of October 2024, The Poe Actor was doing a circuit of  performances at the local libraries in my area. I had previously attended a masquerade theater event back in February, and I started following the actor on social media to see where they would perform next. I was delighted to find out that they were coming to not one but two libraries within 20 minutes of my house during the week of vacation I had scheduled for myself. In celebration of his arrival, I planned a brand new coordinate of my Nya Nya/Cha Cha Love and Death High Waist JSK in Wine. 

I previously wore this dress back in May 2023 when I met up with my fashion club for an Afternoon Tea. I wore it with a blouse with long gray sleeves, black and silver over the knee socks, and a black half bonnet which I had stuffed white faux roses into between my head and the brim. A year and a half later and it was time to make some improvements. This time I had decided that my accent colors were going to be white, black and wine, instead of gray, white and black. 

I used the Yilia Princess Sleeve Slim Blouse, which is a full button down blouse with gold and pearl buttons and 3/4 princess sleeves in white. I would say that this blouse is more of a natural white than a bright white. The second major change was pairing the white cathedral tights that have a black cathedral print near the ankle as well as under the knee area. Lastly, the third major change was my headpiece. I used the Strange Sugar Gothic Lace Organza KC as my base, and attached an elaborate rose pin that was made from leftover fabric scraps from a bridesmaid gown I had long since given away, but kept the customized pin because I knew I could use it somewhere somehow in the future. 

In the "rule of 3" in a coordinate, I have managed that nicely with the white of the blouse, the white roses on the border print, and the white tights as well as the black on the headpiece, black on the upper part of the dress along with the black lace hem, and black tea party shoes. Alas, I could not repeat the wine three times, but two out of three isn't bad! Between the two different stylings, I did wear the same pair of shoes and the same cross body purse. 

Now onto the performance! Campbell Harmon kept in character during the entire 90 minute event! He told us the truth behind the life, death, and legacy of Edgar Allan Poe while also performing some of his most well known short stories and poems. He started off with The Tell Tale-Heart, which is a classic short horror story of a man who murders an old man for his "evil eye" and is haunted by his guilt. The narrator reveals his motives, methods, and madness in a chilling confession. (I remember reading this in high school, but it is by no means as vivid and haunting when "read in your head" as it is when performed aloud, by Edgar Allan Poe himself!)

Next he told us all about Poe's personal and professional life from when he was a child, a young adult, and through his publishing pursuits along with rivalries with contemporary writers of his day, and the odd coincidence of his death after visiting a pub during an election year. There was a lot of historical back story that he had to fill us modern day audiences in on, which he did quite deftly. 

Lastly, he had the audience choose his final poem and the winning vote was The Conqueror Worm! The Conqueror Worm is a poem about human mortality and the inevitability of death. I actually knew this one by heart because my favorite gothic performer, Aurelio Voltaire, had actually included it on his 2014 album, "Raised by Bats". It of course was a little different the way Poe had performed it versus Voltaire, but I enjoyed both versions.  The Poe Actor had felt that the Conqueror Worm was too short of a poem, so he also performed The Raven as a bonus. When my friend Dana and I arrived at the library, there were about 2 other people seated, but when we turned around to see the people asking questions in the back, we realized nearly every seat was filled (and this was a Tuesday evening)! The people in the back asked some very intelligent questions and I was glad to be in the presence of so many educated people. The library director was thrilled with the level of participation in the event overall and pledged to have The Poe Actor back next year around the Halloween season!

Dana took this photo of me near some decaying flowers. I thought it fit with the theme.

I will definitely be on the lookout for this next performance in my area...the question is...will I wear Love and Death JSK again in a new styling or a completely different dress overall?