RIP Edgar Allan Poe!

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary…”

I can't believe it has been a year since I decided to honor Edgar Allan Poe with a rock n' roll tribute by mashing up his Raven poem with "Hard to Handle" by The Black Crowes (to see blog post, click here.)  I have performed it numerous times over the past year and it remains my favorite of all of my literary parody songs.  When I look back, I can't believe how far I have come not only as a performer but also as a designer/stylist.  I now have an Edgar Allan Poe/Raven print fabric that I have made into an entirely new Raven outfit that far surpasses the one I wore in the video.  I still wear the original wings and play my styled-up librarian purse guitar, but there is something really exciting about wearing an entire outfit that I made myself.  I am also so thrilled that people have fallen in love with my Poe/Raven line of wristlet purses and cosmetic bags.  Just the other week, I had a customer request the Raven print in the larger style purse with the bamboo handles and it looks even more incredible!  So for a limited time, I will offer that purse for sale as well.

“Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer…”

As I spend less time on stage performing and more time writing my book that I am determined to finish by the end of the year, I am reminded of how some of us really do get better with age and experience, while others allow failures or heartbreaks to stump their growth.  Perhaps I am focused on age right now because I am approaching a certain number in a couple of weeks that I just don't believe - even when I look at my birth certificate!  I am far too young in my heart to be that old!  When I look in the mirror or at my life on the pages that I write, I am so happy that I have been able to overcome the failures and mistakes I have made with courage and bravery, not fear and anger.  While some women see wrinkles, I see battle scars.  I am a survivor, if nothing else.  

“Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter…”  

Thanks to the tragically sad, real life story of Edgar Allan Poe, who died in 1849, alone at the age 40, penniless, talented beyond belief, and perhaps as a result of alcoholism and drug abuse, I now choose to live my life completely sober without striving for money, fame, or the applause of my peers.  Instead I just choose to LIVE.  One day at a time.  To the fullest.  Wherever that journey takes me.  Nevermore, will I regret that I am not more than what I am at this very moment.  I am enough because I am still here, moving forward, taking hits as they come, and that is what matters most to me.  As I honor Mr. Poe today, I hope he is finally at peace, leaving the demons he once fought on those fabulous poetic pages.

“Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

"The Raven is Hard to Handle" (2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSwsZ8L3S6Y 

"The Raven is Hard to Handle" (2013)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zisLruWM8cI

Edgar Allan Poe/Raven Bamboo Purse
Purchase it here

Edgar Allan Poe/Raven Wristlet
Purchase it here

Edgar Allan Poe/Raven Cosmetic Bag
Purchase it here

Celebrating ARTpool Gallery 5th Anniversary & National Library Week!

For a direct link to video, please click here.

Thanks to Marina Williams and everybody at ARTpool Gallery for having me out to perform a couple of my literary parody songs on Saturday night in celebration of their 5th Anniversary.  It was a wonderful way to kick off National Library Week, plus we had great weather and a whole lot of fun!  My favorite moment of the show was hearing the audience chant "JOYCE, JOYCE, JOYCE" during my first-ever live performance of "JOYCE Around," a tribute to James Joyce and all things Irish.  There was also something special about performing "THE RAVEN is Hard to Handle" under a crescent moon. Perhaps Edgar Allan Poe was looking down on me and laughing at my silly mustache.  Special thanks to Clinton Lee at Brentwood Photography for the fabulous photos! 

I look forward to spending more time at ARTpool now that my literary bags are being sold there.  Just look for the library shelf filled with books and birds!

Support libraries and local art!!!!

"THE RAVEN Is Hard to Handle"

"JOYCE Around"

Stand-Up Librarian Designs now available
at ARTpool Gallery!

Performing at ARTpool Gallery - SATURDAY!

Just a heads up for those in the Tampa Bay area...I will be performing my literary parody songs at ARTpool Gallery's 5th Anniversary Party THIS Saturday, April 13th.  The event is from 8pm - 12am and supports local artists.  As a 5th generation native of St. Petersburg, I am extremely thrilled to celebrate my friend Marina Williams and ARTpool Gallery for their incredible artistic contributions to my hometown.

Body Art Runway Show, Live Music by Waking Giants,
Burlesque & Fire-Eating by Tokyo Belle, Belly-Dancing by Harem Dreams and Oriana,
Stand-Up Librarian Meredith Myers, Aerial Dance Performances by The Girly Show, and more!

My literary fashions will also be available for purchase at ARTpool Gallery from now on, so please come on out to say hi, support local art, and flap your wings while I sing "THE RAVEN is Hard to Handle" in my brand new Raven costume. 

My new Raven ensemble.  Purses available for purchase here.

Tickets for the event are $20 at the door but there are $10 tickets available on the ARTpool website which ends Friday at midnight.  For more information, visit www.artpoolgallery.com/

See you Saturday!!!! 

Edgar Allan Poe/Raven Purse!

"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore - 
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door - 
Only this and nothing more."

But there was more...my new Edgar Allan Poe/Raven purse!  

Quoth the Raven, "Buy It!"

Since debuting "The Raven is Hard to Handle" last October in honor of Edgar Allan Poe, I have been searching endlessly for the right fabric that speaks to the style and practicality of my purses.  Too dark and it would scare people; too white and it would get dirty.  I also like to keep my purses reasonably priced so both the employed and unemployed can find items in their price range and so NEVERMORE do we have to look further because my Edgar Allan Poe/Raven purse is available for $30 for a limited time only!

100% cotton in shades of black and white with images of ravens, quills and handwritten script.  Each raven is detailed with red Swarovski Crystal eye.  Fully-lined with black fabric.  ½ inch wrist strap in coordinating fabric with silver hook closure to clip on to belt loops or bigger bags.  Inner pocket for storing credit cards, cash and IDs.  Dimensions approximately: 4 ½ x 8.   Perfect for any librarian, book lover, poet, and a must have for Poe fans!

To order your Edgar Allan Poe/Raven purse, please click here.

"And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting"
On the Singer sewing machine just inside my chamber door...

Front of the Edgar Allan Poe/Raven purse

Back of the Edgar Allan Poe/Raven purse.

Yes, even a tiny Poe book fits in the purse!

Happy Birthday Edgar Allan Poe!

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” - Edgar Allan Poe

Everybody knows I love Edgar Allan Poe so I can't let the day of his birth go by without mentioning it or sharing my video tribute to him yet again (yes, again!)  If you want to learn more about the video and how it came about, please visit my blog post about it by clicking here. 

Direct link to "The Raven is Hard to Handle: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSwsZ8L3S6Y

More than filming the video, I have enjoyed performing "The Raven is Hard to Handle" live at my shows.  It is an example of how so many other people of all ages love Edgar Allan Poe and perhaps have forgotten how fun classic literature can be.  I doubt Poe truly knew the power his words would have on future generations...or that you can dance to it!

I am also so flattered when I see the kids in the audience get excited about the poem and sing it back to me or want to wear my Raven wings or hats.  It reminds me that I am being heard and received in the manner that I always envisioned for Stand-Up Librarian: Reading + Pop Culture = FUN.  Learning is FUN!  I never wanted to just do stand-up comedy or write on this blog.  I wanted to utilize all of my interests and talents to share my love for books, libraries, bookstores, music and fashion. 

In just wanting to honor one of my literary heroes, I discovered a path for myself that also enables me to fulfill one of my dreams that I thought was impossible: being a rockstar.  While I may never sell-out stadiums like Aerosmith and U2 or sing live on the aerial trapeze like Pink, I am a literary rockstar to a few kids I know and that is pretty cool.  One of my goals this year is to do more programs and shows for young people.  Oh and if I can perform "The Raven is Hard to Handle" live on stage with The Black Crowes, now that would be awesome! (Call me, Chris Robinson!) 

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY and THANK YOU, Mr. Poe for inspiring so many of us to write, to dream, to explore the oddities that not only make us unique but enable us to dream...BIG. 

With the "fans" that truly matter. If something I say makes
them pick up a book, I did my job.

Thanks to Edgar Allan Poe and The Raven, I am able
to soar to heights I never knew was possible. 

"The Raven is Hard to Handle"

On October 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe passed away at age 40 for reasons that to this day are still a mystery.  It almost seems a fitting end for the man who is often called the ‘Father of the Detective Story’ and while we may never know the true ending to his life, what we do know is that he had incredible talent for composing words in short stories, essays, book reviews, and poems like The Raven, published in 1845.

I would love to brag about all of the Poe works I have read but the truth is, classics like Poe’s aren’t always so easy for me to understand.  Sometimes I feel like Judy Holliday in “Born Yesterday” with a Poe book in one hand and a dictionary in the other looking up all of the words I can’t comprehend.  “I looked up every word!” OK, I just did a scene from that play in my acting class so I have the script “laying here…lying here.”

And I know I am not the only one who has this trouble of grasping language from another time.  At least I hope I am not alone.  Perhaps there are some kids out there that have my back on this?  I also have a hard time memorizing words.  It has always been a challenge for me as an actor and comedian to remember my lines – even the words I write myself!  So sometimes I need music to help me grasp the material.  I need rhythm.  Something to sway my hips to is also helpful.

It is with these admissions and to honor the great Edgar Allan Poe that I have created a literary parody song that was not only so fun to do but truly helped me learn these three verses of The Raven poem!  You are on your own for the rest of it.  Thanks to one of my favorite 90’s songs “Hard to Handle” by The Black Crowes, I am proud to share my brand new literary parody song “The Raven is Hard to Handle” where I actually sing!  Not necessarily well, but certainly with lots of passion and heart.  Oh, don’t you just love Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart? "Villains!" I shrieked. "Dissemble no more! I admit the deed!  Tear up the planks!  Here, here!  It is the beating of his hideous heart!"  No, I didn’t memorize that.  I have like 20 Poe books here on my desk leftover from the video shoot.

As is my mission as the Stand-Up Librarian, I want to promote libraries and show my love to my fellow librarians, so this video is no different.  There are several “shout outs” in my costumes and especially on my purse guitar!  I love literature as much as rock n’ roll, so grab a set of Raven wings and get ready to rock...at the library!

RIP Edgar Allan Poe!

The Raven parody idea came to me after making this hat!

Sitting in my "library" wearing my literary creations
that I made or re-styled from other pieces I had.

With my friend and acting teacher Corinne.
I asked her to shush me only 1 minute before we filmed it!

Wearing my silver & black Raven wings.
I originally had READ on the back in red but
it looked like dripping blood. Too dark even for Poe!

***Please visit: www.StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com if you want me to make you a Raven hat or headband!  Or if you are looking for some fashions that are literary fabulous!