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

"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!