Edgar Allan Poe’s Descendant visits Urals
On September 17-18, Dr. Harry Lee Poe, Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee visited the Urals to talk about the life and literature of Edgar Allan Poe. Dr. Harry Poe, an “indirect descendant” of Edgar Allan Poe, is an author of several books on theology; he also serves as president of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia and director of the Poe Foundation. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the great American writer’s birth, observed worldwide and nowhere more so than in Russia, one of the first countries to recognize Edgar Allan Poe’s unique genius. In his lectures, Dr. Harry Poe pointed out that Dostoyevsky was the first to translate Poe’s stories for Russian readers. Invited by the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, Dr. Poe gave lectures to universities and libraries of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Perm.
In Yekaterinburg, fifty students of the Foreign Philology Department of the Ural State University were so eager to dive into the depth of Poe’s legacy that they asked for two lectures – one right after another. Dr. Poe explained how Edgar Allan Poe invented five types of mystery stories, and also shed light on the poet’s personal life. To underscore Russian appreciation for Edgar Allan Poe, the local interpreter, Ms. Slava Rabinovich, read her translations of Poe’s poetic work, “The Bells.” A gifted student, Vlad Bortnikov, also enchanted the audience by reading his own poem in Russian and English.
Dr. Poe’s lecture about Poe’s mystery stories at the Perm State Pedagogical University attracted more than 100 students. Students of other Perm universities and schools, teachers and the general public attended a lecture at the American Corner in Perm where Dr. Harry Poe spoke about how his illustrious ancestor imaginatively discovered the Big Bang Theory in advance of modern scientific theories. His talk centered on the power of the imagination to discover cosmic truths. He then challenged his audience to exercise their imaginations in addressing modern problems.
The Ural listeners warmly welcomed Dr. Poe’s well-constructed and emotional lectures that revealed the world famous poet, short-story writer and novelist as very unlike the dark and gloomy figure in which he is often portrayed. Although his life was difficult, Poe also wrote many humorous stories for which he is less well known. Thanks to Dr. Poe’s research, delivered in an engaging personal style, Russian audiences gained a deeper appreciation for Edgar Allan Poe, the man and the writer.
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