Celebrate Poe

This episode deals with J. Robert Oppenheimer - the complex figure who is the subject of this year’s Best Picture.

This episode compares the figures of J. Robert Oppenheimer and Edgar Allan Poe.   Obviously, from different centuries, the two figures share many common complexities because of their backgrounds, talents, accomplishments, and complicated personalities.

Episode 226 is the second part of a look at some of the high points of Celebrate Poe so far - from the Allans in England to Poe’s days at the University of Virginia, and at West Point.  The episode takes a look at some secondary accounts of incidents of the time in the context of Poe’s life and career.

Episode 225 - Poe Review, 1 is a brief look (through a conversation with the ghost of Mr. Poe and George) regarding the 1st half of Mr. Poe’s life - his earliest years up to Stoke Newington.  Originally, I called this episode Catchup!, but I later decided that a better title might be Poe Review, 1.  The idea is for this podcast to relate events in Poe’s existence up to the half-way point in the story of his illustrious life. 

Sources include: Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography by Arthur Hobson Quinn, The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Dwight R. Thomas and David K. Jackson, and the Life of Edgar A. Poe by Eugene L. Didier.

In this episode, I talk about how I met the co-host of this podcast - the imaginary ghost of Edgar Allan Poe.   Ok - I know it sounds strange - I still scarcely believe it myself - that this is the episode where Mr. Poe made his podcasting debut.

You could say this "sets the stage" for the rest of "Celebrate Poe" and the detailed look at Poe's life and works to follow.  So this episode is a look at the very beginning of Celebrate Poe, and a brief look into future episodes. Currently I am working on several episodes about the Beatles, and how they developed their talents using principles that Edgar Allan Poe used.   And I am very excited about several episodes regarding Chronos and Kairos time in the works of Shakespeare, Poe, and the King James Bible. - a subject I will try to clearly explain later, and one that is a lot more interesting than it might sound at first. 

And if it took well over 200 episodes to cover the first 20 years of Poe’s existence, you can be sure that the second half of Poe’s life will be a long journey that I hope is well worth taking.

Well, thank you very much for making it this far, as we take a deep dive into learning about America’s Shakespeare, and how he has changed our world.

This is the final episode of a three part series dealing with Harriet Tubman.  This episode begins with Tubman working for the Union forces, tending to newly liberated people, scouting into Confederate territory, and nursing wounded soldiers in Virginia.  This episode ends with a comparison of the achievements of Tubman and Frederick Douglass, as well as a comparison of (surprise, surprise!) Tubman and Edgar Allan Poe.

Episode 222 is the second of a three part series dealing with Harriet Tubman, and her work with the Underground Railway.

The episode deals with some of the brave efforts towards liberation that Tubman led, and ends with this description of the assault on Fort Wagner:  And then we saw the lightning, and that was the guns; and then we heard the thunder, and that was the big guns; and then we heard the rain falling, and that was the drops of blood falling; and when we came to get the crops, it was dead men that we reaped.

Episode 221 is the first of  a three part series for Black History Month dealing with Harriett Tubman - some of her ideas, philosophy, and earlier years.

Episode 220 deals with sections of an especially eloquent oration given by Frederick Douglas in honor of Abraham Lincoln.   

Episode 219 deals with Frederick Douglas after his escape to the North, and his colorful and influential life as an abolitionist speaker and advocate.

While he gave thousands of speeches supporting freedom for all races, perhaps one of his most famous is What to the Slave is the Fourth of July:

"My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is American slavery. I shall see, this day, and its popular characteristics, from the slave’s point of view. Standing, there, identified with the American bondman, making his wrongs mine, I do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July! Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the constitution and the Bible, which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery—the great sin and shame of America!

This episode is the first of a three part series about the great Frederick Douglass.  This episode deals with the early life of Douglass - how he was kept from his mother, the moments he first realized the importance of education, and some examples of his eloquence.

Episode 217 takes a brief look at 4 of Poe’s works where many critics believe his complex perceptions of racial issues are explored - The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym, The Goldbug, and Eureka.

This episode deals with some of the complexities of manumission in 19th century United States.  The main thrust of this episode is the time that Edgar Allan Poe actually sold a slave, Edwin, for his Aunt Maria Clemm using the process of manumission - not as beneficial as it might have seemed at first.

This episode is the third and final episode of an "interview" between George and AI Poe (via Google Bard) regarding his first published work,, his life with and love for Virginia Clemm, some of his other loves, and Edgar Poe as a macabre maestro.  An aside here - this certainly wasn’t planned - but the third episode dealing with Poe’s 215th birthday is episode 215 of this podcast.  

This podcast is the second part of three episodes - AI Poe talks in detail about his family, John and Francis Allan, Rosalie, and some of his works in a very moving account.

This podcast episode is the first part of an interview with the imaginary ghost of Edgar Allan Poe based on historical records - who is a running character throughout the podcast - using examples from his life and creative observations on the ghost’s part about what life and literature was like in the 19th century. Today I would like to start the first of several (if necessary) episodes regarding the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe. I would ask questions of the ghost of Poe and it would answer using the beautiful, flowing language of the 19th century - word structure and vocabulary that might be foreign to us today, but is how the real Edgar Allan Poe might have expressed himself (largely based on his writings.). 

In this first part of the “interview,”  I talk about the prompt I used with AI Poe, how the ghost of Edgar Poe views popularity, success failure, and despair, and Mr. Poe’s thoughts about what it means to be human.  I also ask Mr. Poe about some of his influences such as Lord Byron and Emily Dickinson, and end with a rather detailed look at some of AI Poe’s deep feelings regarding Shakespeare.

George Bartley

Resources for Practicing Drinkers:

Self-Assessment and Support:

• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/

◦ Provides information on alcohol use disorders, interactive tools to assess drinking patterns, and links to treatment resources.

• Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): https://www.aa.org/

◦ Worldwide support group network for individuals struggling with alcohol problems. Offers meetings, sponsors, and resources for recovery.

• SMART Recovery: https://smartrecovery.org/

◦ Evidence-based, self-directed program for overcoming addiction and compulsive behaviors. Offers online tools, resources, and forums.

Professional Help:

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): https://www.samhsa.gov/

◦ Provides a national helpline (1-800-662-HELP) for finding treatment facilities and services near you.

• American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/

◦ Offers a directory of psychologists who specialize in alcohol dependence and addiction.

• National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD): https://ncadd.us/

◦ Provides information and resources on addiction treatment, prevention, and advocacy.

Resources for Family Members of Alcoholics:

Support and Education:

• Al-Anon: https://al-anon.org/

◦ Mutual support group program for friends and families of alcoholics. Offers meetings, literature, and resources for coping with the effects of alcoholism.

• Families Anonymous: https://familiesanonymous.org/

◦ Support group for families and friends of those struggling with any form of addiction. Offers resources and understanding for dealing with loved ones' addictive behaviors.

• National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD): https://ncadd.us/

◦ Provides information and resources on alcohol abuse and addiction, including resources for families and loved ones.

• The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): https://www.nami.org/Home

◦ Offers support and resources for families and friends of individuals with mental illness, which can often co-occur with addiction.

Boundaries and Advocacy:

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/

◦ Provides resources and support for victims of domestic violence, which can be exacerbated by alcohol abuse.

• The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: https://ncadv.org/

◦ Offers information and resources on domestic violence and how to help those affected.

• The National Family Caregiver Support Program: http://acl.gov/programs/support-caregivers

Episode 211 - You Are Not Alone is definitely the most personal podcast episode I have ever done.  It begins with the death this week of my sister - an extremely talented lady who had a substance abuse problem.  The episode then briefly discusses Poe’s problems with alcohol - and his attempts to get help at the Shockoe Bottom Sons of Temperance.  Covering  a difficult topic for me to personally discuss, the overall purpose of this episode emphasizes the importance of getting help to deal with substance abuse problems, and ends with specific contact information regarding some the available resources.

Becoming Poe Again is basically a recap of most of Episode One of this podcast series - my background regarding Poe and how I became interested in the writer.  One dynamic that seems to run through my interest is the factor of just "dumb luck," and a fascination with Poe  that has resulted in over 200 podcast episodes regarding Poe - with that many more (at least) scheduled to come.

Episode 209 is a wide-ranging conversation with "AI Poe" regarding athletics, dualism, Poe's role in the Allan family, and Shakespeare.

Episode 208 (Instrument of Death) is the second part of the story Each Man Kills by Victoria Glad - the story develops until the characters are unquestionably involved in the “world of the undead”

Episode 207 (Pronounced Dead) is the first half of the story Each Man Kills by Victoria Glad.   This is the first time in the story where well-meaning several characters  find themselves involved in situations completely beyond their control.