Stark Raven Mad - Disputing a Literary Legend's Final Resting Place

Edward Pettit wrote an enlightening cover story for this week's edition of the City Paper, proposing the relocation of Edgar Allan Poe's grave site to our fine city.

The old chap lived here for six tumultuous years. He wrote here, drank here, and likely enjoyed the more potent aspects of the poppy seed here, too.

Pettit's argument is lucid and informative and we would love to see Poe's return. However, there is little to suggest that Pettit expects his demand to be acted upon.

Instead, he uses the October 7th anniversary of Poe's death (yesterday) as a springboard for reminding us that one of history's greatest literary minds spent a very productive and characteristically difficult period of time in our city.

He does assert that Poe is a "Philadelphian by law":

In 1978, the Poe House at Seventh and Spring Garden was added to the National Park Service as a National Historic Site. Congress had to pass a law granting the interpretation of Poe's life and legacy to the management of the NPS at the Philadelphia Poe site. Poe is a Philadelphian by law.

While we're not sure that legislating the interpretation of his life and legacy is tantamount to Philadelphian-izing him, we have to say that an authentic grave site on the grounds of his Spring Garden home would really round out the tour (tourism is undoubtedly the reason why Baltimore would not let go of the remains).

We've walked by and seen people getting their picture taken with the house itself, so we can only imagine the fervor a real tombstone would elicit.

Either way, the article is a great primer for those without much biographical knowledge of the man who brought us the murder mystery, science fiction, and the psychological thriller.

Just don't expect the creepy dead genius to change his permanent address any time soon.

Image credit: Flickr user change-of-venue