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    Philly behind as Poe Wars heat up

    Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 12:05 pm - by Its Our City Staff

    Boston makes a move for Edgar Allan Poe's legacy

    Boston makes a move for Edgar Allan Poe / Image credit Media Technology Services, Boston College

    Guest commentary

    By Ed Pettit

    If you haven’t heard, Philadelphia and Baltimore have been locked in battle over the literary legacy of Edgar Allan Poe. Well, maybe it’s just me who has been locked in a battle, but there

    Richmond, VA gets Postal Service to issue new Poe stamp

    Richmond, VA behind new Poe stamp

    has been a lot of media attention. Most recently, the NY Times ran a piece about the Poe Wars.

    Now it looks like Boston has joined the fray, as reported in the Boston Globe, Paul Lewis, a professor from Boston College, thinks the Beantowners ought to “embrace their inner Edgar.”

    Before anyone goes all frothing at the mouth again over my call to have Poe’s remains relocated from Baltimore to Philadelphia, let me just say that for me this argument has always been over the Legacy of Poe, not his bones. I only want Poe’s metaphorical bones.

    Poe house in Baltimore / Image credit Nevermore2009

    Poe house in Baltimore Img: Nevermore

    All my life, I’ve noticed how Baltimore has embraced Edgar as one of their own, when in fact their connection has always been tenuous (in sports terms, Baltimore was Poe’s minor league team). While in Philadelphia the National Park Service has admirably tended to our own Poe House, the city hasn’t done nearly enough to promote Edgar as its greatest writer. It’s time for Philly to wake up and realize that Poe is a Philadelphia writer.

    With the Bicentennial of Poe next year (he was born Jan 19, 1809) all the Poe cities-Bmore, Philly, NY, Richmond and Boston-are rolling out the red carpet for Poe tourists. Baltimore has two websites promoting its events. Last month, they held a press conference to promote the Bicentennial which is still making waves in newspapers and news sites online. Richmond has a website, as well. And now Boston, the city with the smallest of claims to Poe’s Legacy (his actress mother gave birth to him while passing through on a theatrical tour), is hosting a two day celebration and calling for their city to recognize Poe as own of their own.

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