Comments on: Baltimore Officially Declares Poe War

By: Albert Nadlan

Albert Nadlan — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:20:12 +0000

Who cares. Just let the poet rest in peace.
I doubt he’d be “he’d be kicking and screaming inside of his coffin, begging for release.” as the article quotes.

Just my opinion.

Nadlan

By: John Spitzer

John Spitzer — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:31:07 +0000

Mr. Petrit’s proposal is an outrage. Poe made the most important decisions of his life in Baltimore which changed the course of literary history forever. As noted, Poe once stated “Baltimore was his home.”Poe once stated “Baltimore was his home.”Poe once stated “Baltimore was his home.” In 25 years of biographical study, I can find to place that Poe called himself a Philadelphian. Poe had family in Baltimore (several branches and several generations), Poe died in Baltimore, and Poe was buried at Westminster, where he remains today. Let him rest in peace, a peace he never found in life. We stand ready to fight for Poe!

By: Jeff Jerome

Jeff Jerome — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:46:57 +0000

C’mon Philadelphia! Give it a rest. Poe isn’t going anywhere. Celebrate your cheese steak subs and the cracked bell.

Collective guilt is what’s happening here. Philadelphia hasn’t done ANYTHING to promote Poe since 1849. Oh wait, George Lippard said something nice after Poe’s death. That’s it. Where were the people of Philadelphia when his house was closed?? It took the National Park Service to open it. Baltimore on the other hand has been promoting Poe since 1875!

You know what? Philadelphia doesn’t deserve a Poe House. I think I’m going to start a campaign to move the Philadelphia Poe House to Baltimore.

For some reason I don’t think the City of Philadelphia will miss it.

By: Jenni

Jenni — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:30:25 +0000

I agree with Mark (comment #3), his return to Baltimore consistently suggests that he enjoyed that city the most. He also returned to Baltimore just days before he died on its streets….he obviously wished to be buried in Baltimore….why disappoint him?

Besides, the poor man was buried and reburied so many times, why not just leave him where he’s at to rest in peace? You all claim to love the man and his work, that is the best thing you could do for him. Just leave him there.

Baltimore is where he died, there he shall be buried!!

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:25:54 +0000

I agree with Ron (comment #4), Philly and Baltimore need to stick together. We can both lay claim to Poe and share in his genius without insulting one another, let’s save that for New York and DC.

By: Ed Pettit

Ed Pettit — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:55:30 +0000

I’ll be debating this whole Poe brouhaha on TV tomorrow morning (Wed Oct 17) on Comcast’s Your Morning show on CN8 at 7:30 AM. I’ll be taking on someone from Baltimore. Perhaps I’ll even get punched in the eye. Tune in.

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:44:52 +0000

Philly and Baltimore have had their share of other cities pointing their finger and laughing we need to stick together. As a person who has lived in both cities and find them both to be the best in the United States (New York…Richmond…don’t make me laugh). People from Philly and Baltimore go check out each other’s Poe house, get some seriously good food, and spend some time checking into the history that makes both cities great.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:02:08 +0000

Poe spent a lot of time in Philadelphia. He also spent a lot of time in Richmond, Virginia, and the Bronx. He spent a good deal of time in Boston, while in the army. Poe was all over the place. But the one place he returned to consistently was Baltimore, where he spent most of the last eighteen years of his life.

Poe is buried in a small churchyard, beneath a substantial monument. The monument was dedicated in 1875 - in attendance were his cousin, a few other family members and Walt Whitman. Letters from Tennyson, Longfellow and William Cullen Bryant were read. Buried beside Poe are his wife, Virginia, and his mother-in-law, Maria Clemm.

No matter where Poe is (re)buried, the fact is that Walt Whitman will never again be in attendance to pay respect to him. That is, unless you’d like to dig up Whitman too, and see to it that he’s present for a dedication.

And what about Virginia and her mother? Will we reinter them too? We’re now talking about moving and reburying the remains of three people. We could of course just leave them where they are, where they’ll be utterly forgotten as the forces that drove Poe to create his darkest and most heartbreaking work. But doing so would be dangerous. Taking only Poe’s remains and leaving those of his family would reveal this exercise for what it really is - an absurd and obscene attempt to profit from the bones of the dead.

Leave Poe where he is.

By: AP in Roxborough

AP in Roxborough — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:33:15 +0000

You may argue the validity of the claim to Mr. Poe, but you go to far, sir, to imply that Philadelphia’s culture is limited to the Rocky statue.

Especially when you are trying to defend the city of Baltimore. I mean, c’mon… Baltimore. Baltimore? Are you kidding??

I drive past more culture in ten minutes on Kelley Drive than the city of crabs will ever know.

By: paul in mt airy

paul in mt airy — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 02:40:32 +0000

thought i’d stop by and rant!!!

i’m born and raised in bawlmer, moved to philthadelphia in 90.

both cities have a valid claim.
but, possession is 9/10’s of the law… at LEAST 9/10’s…
also, balwlmer had it’s football team stolen from it by a drunken scum-sucking creep(and i’m be very nice); no way is that gonna happen to the decayed corpse of EAP.
he STAYS in balwmer.
just because philly’s idea of culture is a gold Lame’ statue of a lame actor pretending to be a lame boxer, doesn’t mean it can imperiously dictate the location of the crumbling corpse of an actual talent.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
“The nose of a mob is its imagination. By this, at any time, it can be quietly led. “