Celebrate Poe

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Poe’s reflections on decay within the Colosseum is a cautionary tale about civic engagement today. As many citizens become increasingly disengaged from political processes, there is a risk of societal decay reminiscent of the decline represented in Poe's poem. Encouraging active participation in democracy is essential to countering this trend.
While at first reading, the poem The Coliseum points at the decay of an ancient society - Rome - the poem also highlights the enduring relevance of Poe's work in analyzing contemporary society.

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Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 335- Meddling With Life and Death
This episode is a continuation of a discussion between Mr. Bartley and the Ghost of Edgar Allan Poe regarding Mary Shelley and Frankenstein.

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Welcome to Celebrate Poe - This is episode 345 - Stirring Sexual Desire
I was looking at the podcast episodes I have done, and realized that I had written three or more episodes for each subject. But I only did two for Carmilla, and have come to realize that the narrative does deserve more attention. You see, there is no question that Carmilla has lesbian/homoerotic undertones that were groundbreaking for its time. Being a gay male, I might not be the ideal person to speak to the lesbian subtext, but I can certainly give it a try.
The story features several scenes of physical closeness between a young woman named Laura and a female vampire named Carmilla, including embraces, caresses, and even Carmilla fondling Laura in bed. These interactions are described in sensual terms that suggest a romantic and sexual attraction. The relationship between the two women is characterized by intense emotions, possessiveness, and a deep, almost obsessive connection that goes beyond typical friendship.
Carmilla is one of the early works of vampire fiction, definitely predating Bram Stoker's “Dracula." The story is narrated by Laura, a young woman who becomes the target of a female vampire named Carmilla.

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Welcome to Celebrate Poe - my name is George Bartley and this is episode 321 - Answer to Listener
The intro music was Come Rest in This Bosom - said to be Edgar Poe’s favorite song.
I’d like to start with a whooper of an apology - last month - yes, last month - I got a kind message with my podcast episode on my iPhone - I was so elated that I did an entire episode in response to the individual’s comments - but I was moving some files around and promptly lost it - I had foolishly named it Attend to This - which of course made it impossible to find. Well, just a few minutes ago I was trying to clean up my Mac desktop, opened a file named Attend to This - and saw in was the podcast script I wrote in response to the message - So before I loose it again, this episode is a response to that message. And thanks for your patience.
The message read:
Thank you for this podcast, Mr. Bartley. It's a refreshing look at Poe’s life and times. I just now finished John Allen's will episode. I'm pro Poe and no matter what he did, I believe that Mr. Allan was wrong to not leave him anything in his will. perhaps he thought Poe would accomplish more if he had to do it on his own? Perhaps we would not have the soulful poems poe left us? I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this matter? 5 stars (For privacy purposes I am not going to say the person’s name - you never know.)
Well, thank you for writing. And the person gave me 5 stars. Thank you.

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Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 362 - Poetry and Dreams
I was looking through articles about Poe to find information for a future article regarding why do so many people read Edgar Allan Poe. And I found some great stuff and certainly will be writing an episode or two about that subject. But I found an article that said that more Americans - almost 3/4 - are familiar with Edgar Poe - more than any other poet. Shakespeare is second.
Now this was the episode where I wanted to start some episodes on Bram Stoker - but it turns out there is a poetry workshop that is rather time sensitive, so I better get this out now.
You see, on Thursday, April 24 there will be a free workshop from the Academy of American Poets online at YouTube - no charge at all, tho I doubt they would turn down donations. All you need to do is register, and again, it is free. I have the URL on my Buzzsprout transcript and show notes - but in case you can’t remember URLS - I can’t - it is https//poets.org/gala/2025 - - again, it is free - all you need to do is register in advance. The readers include people such as Christine Baranski, Stephen King, Tony Kusher, Fran Lebowitz, and Lawrence O’Donnell - among others.
Just wanted to be sure that you got the info about what is called Poetry and the Creative Mind - again, to be held on Thursday, April 24.
By the way, Meryl Streep is extremely active in Poetry and the Creative Mind, and has read works by Elizabeth Bishop, Sylvia Plath, and Walt Whitman in programs across multiple years.
By the way, poets.org.gala.2025 will take you to the registration page as well.
For the rest of this episode, I would like to delve into several of Edgar Poe’s poems that deal with dreams. The three poems are Dreams, A Dream, and A Dream Within a Dream, and Dreamland - and boy, are they easy to mix up. So take them in order considering the number of words in the title - I know it sounds simplistic but stay with me because it makes things soooo much easier. And I am not going to include the poem Dreamland until the end of this podcast - It is (in my opinion, a poem that is in a class by yourself.)
Think 1, 2, and 5 - words that is -
The title of Dreams is just one word, the title of A Dream is two words, and the title of the shortest and most mature work - A Dream Within a Dream is 5 words. Dreams and A Dream were both published in 1827 and A Dream Within a Dream was published in 1849 - the year of Edgar Poe’s earthly demise.
Let me say that again - The title of Dreams is just one word, the title of A Dream is two words, and the title of the most mature work - A Dream Within a Dream is 5 words. Dreams and A Dream were both published in 1827 and A Dream Within a Dream was published in 1849.

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