Yesterday, on the birthday of iconic original goth Edgar Allan Poe, we reported sad news for Poe fans out of Baltimore.
For at least three decades and maybe many more- the origins of the tradition are in some dispute- a shadowy figure known as the Poe Toaster has slipped past a growing number of Poe fans at the writer’s gravesite on the night of his birthday, sneaking in after midnight and leaving a half-drunk bottle of Cognac and three red roses. The beginning of the tradition’s end came in 2010, the first year of three that the Poe Toaster was a no-show at the Edgar Allan Poe gravesite .
Afterwards, Poe House curator Jeff Jerome expressed annoyance and surprise, but vowed to hold vigil the next two years to ensure the tradition had truly died. Jerome cited a secret signal to determine the real Poe Toaster’s identity, thus weeding out impostors hoping to keep the tradition alive. In 2011, the Poe Toaster was again absent from the festivities at Poe’s gravesite.
After the second absence, Jerome gave the Poe Toaster- thought perhaps to be a play on the word “poetaster,” which basically means a sucky poet- one more year to appear. But Jerome said at the time that if the tradition was truly dead, it was dead, and no one could assume the mantle of Poe Toaster officially in his estimation:
“It’s sort of like a marriage that ends. Part of you still wants the warmth that was part of it, and you go looking for the same woman. No, it’s over with. And if it’s over with, it’s over with. If people want to continue the tradition, it’s going to be without me.”
With this week’s third and final Poe Toaster-less gathering , Jerome declared the tradition dead- although not without some regret. He mused:
“It’s over with. It will probably hit me later, but I’m too tired now to feel anything else. I’ve been part of a ritual that people around the world read about. I’ll miss it.”
Without the potential appearance of the Poe Toaster (save for three impostors who attempted to toast Poe this year), it indeed seems the tradition is somewhat pointless. Do you think fans of Edgar Allan Poe will keep some sort of graveside party alive to honor the literary great, or will the Poe Toaster become a footnote in American literature from here on?
