From Brian Burness
On a sweltering late spring afternoon circa 1972 my 3rd grade class along with the 4th and 5th graders of my small elementary school were paraded outside, and made to sit under a large shade tree. It was here that I was first treated to a reading of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Tell Tale Heart”. The story both scared the bejesus out of me, and sparked my lifelong love affair with reading. So, I was delighted to find out that the Russell Library was hosting a reading of the great authors works last night by actor and poet Timothy Ross Whelan.
A nearly packed Hubbard room, many of whom were children, sat in anticipation as the evenings narrator (only identified as “Angela, ACSW, LCSW, LMFT”) lectured us about the short, sometimes tragic life of E. A. Poe, placed the works to be read in a larger historical context, and annotated the text for those who didn’t know for example that nitre was that white mossy Halloween décor often seen in catacombs, and Indiana Jones movies.
Eventually, we were all treated to a spirited reading of “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The cask of Amontillado” along with the poems “To Science”, “To Helen”, “Lenore”, and my personal favorites “Annabel Lee” and “The Raven”.
I’m betting that more than one of the children gathered at the feet of last night’s story teller had a little trouble getting to sleep last night.
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