This book is an exceptional tribute to Edgar Allan Poe. Too often, supposed experts on Poe succumb to the trope of portraying him as an unhinged, drug abusing, alcoholic facing one horrendous plight after another. That ends up being the only story we ever hear. What a disappointing way to depict one of the most understatedly profound writers of our time…

In Poe-Land, Ocker addresses the many curt rebuffs shown posthumously by Boston and others. He takes us on a walking tour through Poe’s many pockets of the country. He tells us the behind-the-scenes stories of where odd plaques in Poe’s honor came from, what unique Poe-themed medallions on gates here and there mean, and how a truly “bad-ass” statue of Poe came to be. And this is just chapter one. My favorite line so far is, “…and her shop was a crossroads of transcendentalist writers and thinkers, the kind of place that would have burned Poe’s skin like holy water on a demon had he [Poe] tried to enter.”

I’m blown away by this book so far and had to leave a review. This is a must-read if you even slightly find Poe interesting.

Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe by J.W. Ocker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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