Celebrate Creativity

Send us Fan Mail In The Better Angels of Our Nature, George goes off topic to examine three former Presidents (Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Obama) and how they  were faced with what seemed like insurmountable economic challenges. This episode briefly deals with how they addressed they addressed their challenges in their respective inaugural addresses.  Then George examines a short section of P...

Send us Fan Mail This episode continues with some additional travel literature that focuses on White Sulphur Springs.   Then George talks about how the springs allowed southern visitors to be “acceptedly” concerned about their bodies. Perhaps the most important concept behind this series is that “the Virginia Springs were both a stage and a school”  (Listen to this episode to see what I mean.)   A...

Send us Fan Mail No, this has nothing to do with Pink Floyd.  This episode deals with  the genre of travel literature - a genre that we don’t often associate with Poe.   George’s top 5 favorite works of travel literature are The Travel of Marco Polo by Marco Polo The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain On the Road by Jack Kerouac Eat, Pray, Love  by Elizabeth Gilbert American Notes by Charles Dickens N...

Send us Fan Mail The first of three episodes about the Virginia Springs, this episode uses fascinating accounts from the early 19th century to describe the wonder that is White Sulphur Springs.  Mr. Poe returns for this episode, and "Paradise Row" lays the groundwork for a discussion of how the Springs influenced Poe’s later works. Sources: Springs of Western Virginia published by Samuel...

Send us Fan Mail The final of four episodes about the podcaster’s hometown, Staunton, this episode covers a variety of personal experiences that led to this podcast. George talks about the miniature railroad in the Staunton city park, how he was initially left totally unimpressed by Poe, his education, growing up closeted in a conservative area of the South, becoming immersed in Shakespeare, and h...

Send us Fan Mail George compares the invasion of the Capitol Building during Poe’s life (the War of 1812) with the reprehensible invasion of the Capitol Building by a group of thugs incited by Mr. Trump. This also includes Mr. Bartley’s thoughts about the social responsibilities of a podcaster in making the world a better place. And Celebrate Poe starts a new series featuring the locations of list...

Send us Fan Mail In the opinion of this podcaster, Dr. Francis Collins is one of the greatest Americans who has ever lived.  He is director of the National Institutes of Health, and is Dr. Anthony Fauci’s boss!  This episode briefly traces his birth in Staunton, education, and growth as a scientist.  The majority of the podcast is made up of the actual voices of President Clinton and Dr. Collins s...

Send us Fan Mail Today George looks at one of the most famous persons from Staunton - President Woodrow Wilson.  This episode concentrates on his reaction - and non reaction - to the Influenza pandemic of 1918 - a reaction which is all too similar to that of leadership today.  Vicks Vapor Rub purported to be one of the “cures” for the deadly pandemic of 1918 - a dubious “cure”, at best - but at le...

Send us Fan Mail Tonight is the final holiday episode, and the first of three episodes regarding Staunton, Virginia - a place not often associated with Edgar Allan Poe, but definitely one that the Allans visited at least 3 times from 1812-1813 (most likely much more.)  Coincidently, Mr. Bartley is also from Staunton.  Mr. Poe and Mr. Bartley tell some tales about the Washington Inn - a  haunted ta...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the seventh of eight episodes (all less than 30 minutes) in a Celebrate Poe holiday series.  Mr. Poe returns to read H.P. Lovecraft’s classic “tale of the weird” - The Outsider.  H.P. Lovecraft said that Edgar Allan Poe was his “God of Fiction” Below is a complete list of all this year’s eight holiday episodes (past and future) with dates: Wednesday, December 23 -...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Twenty One - Dagon This episode is the sixth of eight episodes (all less than 30 minutes) in a Celebrate Poe holiday series.  Mr. Poe returns to read H.P. Lovecraft’s classic “tale of the weird” - Dagon. Below is a complete list of all this year’s eight holiday episodes (past and future) with dates: Wednesday, December 23 - Episode 16  - A Set of Poe - a charming Christmas...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the fifth of eight episodes (all less than 30 minutes) in a Celebrate Poe holiday series.  Mr. Bartley reads The Phantom Coach, Part Two  - this is where the story really gets good.  I am not going to say anything more, just listen to the story and let it creep up on you! The cover art for this episode (if your podcatcher supports it) is a bust of the story's...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Nineteen -The Phantom Coach, Part One This episode is the fourth of eight episodes (all less than 30 minutes) in a Celebrate Poe holiday series.  Mr. Bartley reads The Phantom Coach, Part One - a highly engaging British ghost story.  Below is a complete list of all this year’s eight holiday episodes (past and future) with dates: Wednesday, December 23 - Episode 16  - A Set...

Send us Fan Mail https://archive.org/details/giftchristmasnew00poee/page/n17/mode/2up Episode Eighteen - Christmas with Poe This episode is the third of eight episodes (all less than 30 minutes) in a Celebrate Poe holiday series.  Christmas with Poe is a “regular” episode of  the podcast, and covers how many scholars believe Edgar Allan Poe (and the Allan family) celebrated Christmas - from Victor...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Seventeen - Gift of the Magi This episode is the second of eight episodes (all less than 30 minutes) in a Celebrate Poe holiday series.  Mr. Bartley reads (again at Mr. Poe’s urging) O Henry’s classic Christmas story, The Gift of the Magi. BTW - Mr. Poe prefers to read the stories next week by H.P. Lovecraft. No surprise there. Below is a complete list of all eight holiday...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is the first of eight episodes (all less than 30 minutes) in a Celebrate Poe holiday series.  Mr. Bartley reads (at Mr. Poe’s urging) a charming short story about a gentleman who hopes his wife will give him a 10-volume set of Poe’s works for Christmas. Note the cover art above of Indiana author George Ade taken shortly after he wrote  "A Set of Poe" Below i...

Send us Fan Mail This episode deals with the War of 1812 - weaving an account of many of  the basic concepts regarding the war with the stories of two VERY different men - the kindly, aristocratic Francis Scott Key, and the rude, obnoxious, arrogant John Randolph of Roanoke. Dolley Madison and David Poe Sr. (Poe's grandfather) are part of the narrative of the conflict too! Some of the major c...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Fourteen: Red Death (Part Two) This is the second and final episode (for now) regarding The Masque of the Red Death - The story ends with a deadly confrontation between the Red Death and Prince Prospero (guess who comes out the victor?) Mr. Bartley gets all excited about the use of the number “seven.” The episode ends with some comments about COVID, leaders with empathy, t...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Thirteen: Red Death (Part One) After an explanation of why Celebrate Poe is abandoning its chronological format (for only a week or two) this episode delves into what many scholars believe is Poe’s most horrifying story - The Masque of the Red Death - a story that is especially relevant today. We discuss various possible sources for the story - medieval, Shakespeare, and N...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Twelve: Two Heroes (A Blacksmith and the Gay Priest)  In this episode, Mr. Poe and George discuss two American Heroes: Gilbert Hunt - an African American blacksmith who saved several lives in the Richmond Theatre Fire of 1811 (and later the Va. State Penitentiary) Father Mychal Judge - a life-affirming, dynamic priest who happened to be gay. He died at 9/11 while giving la...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Eleven   America’s First Major Disaster In this episode, Mr. Poe and George discuss America’s First Major Disaster - the Richmond Fire of 1811 in which over 70 of the most influential people (in a town of less than 10,000) died.    Warning: The podcast's description of the fire is  a bit intense. For example:  The fire caused theatre goers to scream in agony. Some of...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Mr. Poe and Mr. Bartley discuss the tragic life of his mother, Eliza, as well as his brother and sister. Mr. Poe poignantly relates the horrible illness of his mother.  He then talks about her death from tuberculosis when the writer was only two years old Support the show Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Creativity.

Send us Fan Mail https://www.openlettersmonthlyarchive.com/olm/appearing-as-edgars-father https://www.thedailybeast.com/author/michael-daly This episode begins with an apology, and story about a rowdy group of students (from Lady Gaga’s mother’s high school) and their refusal to be quiet until I feigned madness! A majority of this episode covers the question of the identity of Poe’s father.   Most...

Send us Fan Mail It is 1809, and Mr. Poe is born in Boston on January 9 in the cold of winter (naturally.) And Mr. Poe talks about the fact that his mother often played classic roles where she died on stage.  Could this be why Poe wrote so many stories about beautiful young woman dying (and often coming back to life?) Being a research heavy podcast, I am indebted to the Indianapolis Public Library...

Send us Fan Mail This episode deals with  the conflicts between Eliza (Poe's mother) and David (Poe's father) as stage actors a comparison of Eliza and David to Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born a discussion of the size and importance of the couple’s Shakespearean roles (possibly the nerdiest thing you will ever hear!) Cover Art: File from Wikipedia :Star Is Born 04 (4402721...