Celebrate Creativity

Send us Fan Mail Chapter XII The Search for the Wicked Witch The soldier with the green whiskers led them through the streets of theEmerald City until they reached the room where the Guardian of the Gates lived. This officer unlocked their spectacles to put them back in his great box, and then he politely opened the gate for our friends. “Which road leads to the Wicked Witch of the West?” asked Do...

Send us Fan Mail Chapter XI. The (Emerald) Wonderful City of Oz Even with eyes protected by the green spectacles, Dorothy and her friends were at first dazzled by the brilliancy of the wonderful City. The streets were lined with beautiful houses all built of green marble and studded everywhere with sparkling emeralds. They walked over a pavement of the same green marble, and where the blocks were...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 306 - This is Chapter VII The Journey to the Great Oz from the Wonderful Wizard of Oz They were obliged to camp out that night under a large tree in the forest, for there were no houses near. The tree made a good, thick covering to protect them from the dew, and the Tin Woodman chopped a great pile of wood with his axe and Dorothy built a splendi...

Send us Fan Mail Chapter V The Rescue of the Tin Woodman When Dorothy awoke the sun was shining through the trees and Toto had long been out chasing birds around him and squirrels. She sat up and looked around her. There was the Scarecrow, still standing patiently in his corner, waiting for her. This episode deals with Dorothy's and Toto's first encounter with the Tin Woodman. Support th...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Celebrate Poe - This is Episode 304 - Chapter III. How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow When Dorothy was left alone she began to feel hungry. So she went to the cupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread with butter. She gave some to Toto, and taking a pail from the shelf she carried it down to the little brook and filled it with clear, sparkling water. Toto...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 303 - Dorothy and the Cyclone After the previous episode with its comparison of two great, but vastly different writers, I’d like to begin in earnest this podcasts episodes for the Twelve Days of Christmas.  It’s a long story, but briefly I saw that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz might be a perfect choice - for one thing - it had 24 chapters - and I...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Episode 302 - Usher and Oz But before this podcast delves into the original version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, I like to delve into the life and works of two very different writers - Edgar Allan Poe and, the author of the Oz series - L. Frank Baum. Both were highly influential authors, with distinct styles and thematic concerns that reflect their unique literary goa...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 301 - Poe and the 12 days of Christmas.  For the past several years in Celebrate Poe, I have talked about the 12 days of Christmas.  I know I have talked about the period before in general but never actually talked  about each specific day during the period and the significance of each religious holiday. While there is no direct evidence that Edg...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - This is episode 300 - “Poe's Legacy: 300 Episodes of Exploration” Yes, this a point that I never thought the Ghost of Mr. Poe and myself would never reach - the 300th episode of this podcast.  I like to think that the title of this episode reflects on the journey through Poe's life and works, celebrating the depth of content covered in the podc...

Send us Fan Mail Where It All Began I begin the episode relaxing in a comfortable chair in a University of Virginia library when a bum? Panhandler? Apparition? Introduces himself as Edgar Allan Poe, and tells me that he wants to start a podcast.  We talk, but I am doubtful, to say the least. Then switch to a few months ago - this same apparition visits me again (knowing that I want to start a podc...

Send us Fan Mail Poe’s reflections on decay within the Colosseum is a cautionary tale about civic engagement today. As many citizens become increasingly disengaged from political processes, there is a risk of societal decay reminiscent of the decline represented in Poe's poem. Encouraging active participation in democracy is essential to countering this trend. While at first reading, the poem...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 297 - Poe’s Bread and Circuses Today I would like to begin by talking about the Coliseum itself before getting into other areas.  The actual poem by Poe - The Coliseum - was one of his first poems - and might need a bit of background. And while I was doing research for this and future episodes regarding The Coliseum - I ran into several sources w...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 296 - Searching for a Family  Link to The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe  67 minuteshttps://archive.org/details/TheLovesOfEdgarAllanPoe Link to clip or Jane Darwell in “The Grapes of Wrath”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJLvgWx-h54 Link to clip of Jane Darwell and Julie Andrews in “Mary Poppins”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5Wb_sTdJV William and Maria Clemm had three childre...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Epidode 313 - this is episode Chapter XIX Attacked by the Fighting Trees The next morning Dorothy kissed the pretty green girl good-bye, and they all shook hands with the soldier with the green whiskers, who had walked with them as far as the gate. When the Guardian of the Gate saw them again he wondered greatly that they could leave the beautiful City t...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 295 - John Allan’s Will On March 27, 1834, John Allan died of a lingering illness of unknown origin.  He was undoubtedly completely utterly ignorant that he would not be remembered for his money - but because of the cast-off ward he had despised. His business partner was Charles Ellis, and Ellis’s son Thomas (citing Louisa Allan as his source) wr...

Send us Fan Mail Chapter XVI The Magic Art of the Great Humbug Next morning the Scarecrow said to his friends: “Congratulate me. I am going to Oz to get my brains at last. When I return I shall be as other men are.” “I have always liked you as you were,” said Dorothy simply. Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

Send us Fan Mail In today's episode, I would like to deal with and emphasize the overall influence of John Allan on Poe’s life - and what might Poe's life have been like if John Allan had a more positive temperament. And even if some of this information is familiar to you, stay with the Ghost of Mr. Poe and myself for what ultimately is a very sad story. Support the show Thank you for ex...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 293 - Last Will and Testament of William Galt While ideally, I would like to have all the episodes in this podcast in chronological order - for example, start with Poe’s birth and deal with his writings and then his death, followed by his influence on literature - that just isn’t always possible.  Today is an example, for an examination of portio...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 292 - Loss of Breath Today, Mr. Poe and I will look at his short story “Loss of Breath.”  Certainly, "Loss of Breath" is what one might call a lesser-known Poe short story,first published in 1832 in The Philadelphia Saturday Courier. I doubt that you would consider the story one of my more famous works of horror and mystery, Such as The...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 291.  Poe and the Outsider In the previous episode the character of the ghost of Mr. Poe and I first discussed the Alien and Sedition Acts.   First, I’d like to apologize I have a cold/flu, and just listened to my recorded voice - you will just have to bear with me. Of course, that gives the voice of the ghost of Mr. Poe - a Southern accent too A...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 290 - Alien - or perhaps more accurately Poe and The Alien and Sedition Acts.   And no, I am not going to talk about little creatures from outer space. This podcast will deal with Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 - acts which very well may have affected Poe - but first I want to talk about those acts as they have recently been discussed by Preside...

Send us Fan Mail In the previous episode, the ghost of Mr. Poe and I began a discussion of the presidential election of 24 - 1824 that is - an election that the young Poe would have been familiar with.   And if you have not heard that podcast episode, I encourage you to go back and listen to it.  It only tells 1/4th of the story - keep listening and I think you will see what I mean. Support the sh...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 288 - Election Conflict, Part 1 You are probably sick and tired of hearing and reading about election conflicts and disagreements - I know that I am.  But in this episode, the ghost of Mr. Poe and I would like to take you back to a rather dramatic and controversial Presidential election that most historians believe Edgar Poe would have known abou...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - this is episode 287 - Poe’s Views on Democracy and Donald Trump. When I started this weekly podcast over 4 years ago, my original intentions were to keep Poecentric - meaning only about the works, times, and life of America’s Shakespeare - that grew to some of the literary influences on his works.  Even though I have strong religious and political belief...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Celebrate Poe - this is episode 286 - an examination from a contemporary standpoint of one of Edgar Poe’s most famous stories - The Pit and the Pendulum.  And as you will hear very soon, this episode also marks the return of the Ghost of Mr. Poe. Even tho The Pit and the Pendulum story was first published in 1842, the tale certainly has the elements of any great story -...