{"id":7597,"date":"2018-12-04T08:20:15","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T13:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=7597"},"modified":"2018-12-04T08:20:15","modified_gmt":"2018-12-04T13:20:15","slug":"be-very-scared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=7597","title":{"rendered":"Be Very Scared . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"raven\"

drawing, rebeccarawrr, creative commons license<\/p><\/div>\n

Credited with inventing detective fiction and contributing to the popularity of the then-new genre of science fiction, Edgar Allan Poe was one of America\u2019s earliest authors to devote energies to the short story\u2014as he defined it, a composition that could be read in a single sitting. Yet, his heart\u2019s desire was to be a poet. Had he not died so young\u2014at age 40\u2014he might have been a great one.<\/p>\n

This year, around the 169th anniversary of Poe\u2019s mysterious death in Baltimore, Camden Park Press published Quoth the Raven<\/a><\/em>, an anthology of poems and stories inspired by Poe\u2019s work and sensibility, reimagined for the twenty-first century. Lyn Worthen was the collection\u2019s hard-working editor. One of the short story authors, Tiffany Michelle Brown, interviewed seven of the collection\u2019s 32 authors about their inspiration.<\/p>\n

Brown: Imagine you\u2019re in an old-timey elevator, a rickety one that boasts a well-worn, rusty cage. There\u2019s a man in all black in the elevator with you, and he asks what your poem or story is about. What do you tell him?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Poet Tony Kalouria said she was inspired by the notion that unsolicited, unwanted advice is \u201cfor the birds.\u201d Menacing, nay-saying birds, the spawn of Poe\u2019s Raven.<\/p>\n

Story-writer Susan McCauley used \u201cThe Cask of Amontillado\u201d to inspire her story of murder and revenge, whereas my story sprung from Poe\u2019s \u201cBerenice.\u201d In it, a woman sees her twin brother as the other half of herself and will stop at nothing to keep him close. In \u201cMy Annabel,\u201d Emerian Rice told the story of two surgeons caught in a pandemic and their fight to stay alive for one another, and Sonora Taylor propelled Poe\u2019s \u201cThe Tell-Tale Heart\u201d into the maelstrom of social media with \u201cHearts are Just \u2018Likes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cConsidering the rust on this rickety cage,\u201d said Stephen R. Southard, \u201cI\u2019m not sure we\u2019ll even make it to our floors.\u201d His story sprang from Poe\u2019s tale about a balloon trip to the moon, which, naturally, left many unanswered questions. Poe intended future installments, but never completed them. \u201cSomeone had to write the sequel, so I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown: What\u2019s a story or poem \u2013 by any author \u2013 that has truly creeped you out (in the best way possible, of course)?<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n