Tag Archives: literature

Dear Edgar 64 ~ Von Kempelen and His Discovery

Posted on August 2, 2026 by Mark Hayes

By April 1849 our dear Edgar was a widower finding his comfort once more in the bottle. Privately he had started becoming increasingly unstable after Viginia’s death in January 1847. Yet publicly he had never been so successful. The initial … Continue reading →

Posted in Poe, reads, retro book reviews, Uncategorized | Tagged amreading, book reviews, books, Edgar Alan Poe, fiction, literature, reads, writing | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar 62 ~ Mellonta Tauta

Posted on July 21, 2026 by Mark Hayes

In Mellonta Tauta, our Dear Edgar imagines the world a thousand years in his future and writes a letter from it. All be it a letter not address to us, but sealed in a bottle and thrown into the ocean by its writer just before the balloon, on which they will be traveling, collapses into the sea Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 59 ~ The Sphinx

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Nor is it related to the character ‘The Sphinx’ in the movie Gone in 60 seconds, played by former football hard man Vinnie Jones. Though in fairness that would have been some what unlikely and remarkable prescient of Poe if that was the case.
Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 50 ~ Thou Art the Man

Posted on January 8, 2026 by Mark Hayes

Without Poe’s Dupin there is no Sherlock Holmes, at least not in the form we are familiar with. Poe invented the Sherlock architype, but also the Doctor Watson type everyman who tells us the stories. Holmes and Watson in turn inspired Agatha Christie’s Poirot and inspector Japp among many others. Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 45 ~ A Tale of the Ragged Mountains

Posted on October 31, 2025 by Mark Hayes

Science Fiction is awash with tales of procession or bodily transference… This one by Poe, may have been the first Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 36 – The Masque of the Red Death

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Mark Hayes

In the world of art there are many indisputable masterworks. True masterpieces that transcend the art world. Van Gothe’s Sunflowers. DeVince’s Mono Lisa. Vermeer’s Girl with a pearl earring. Goya’s The nude Maja, Giorgione’s The Sleeping Venus, that one by … Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 35 ~ The Oval Portrait

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Mark Hayes

On occasion, when you spend time in the company of dead authors, you come across an obscure little story that inspired something far more well known. Occasionally the original feels like it is a pastiche of the more famous work. … Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar 33 – Eleonora

Posted on July 2, 2025 by Mark Hayes

The One remains, the many change and pass;Heaven’s light forever shines, Earth’s shadows fly;Life, like a dome of many-coloured glass,Stains the white radiance of Eternity, Our dear Edgar, as you are doubtless aware, was something of a romantic, or at … Continue reading →

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Dear Edgar ~31 : The Colloquy of Monos and Una

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Mark Hayes

There are (in this tale) broad themes in regards to life, death, the impermanence of existence, decay both moral and physical.

It really is a bundle of laughs…. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, opinion, Poe, reads, retro book reviews | Tagged books, Dear Edgar, fiction, literature, philosophy, Poe, reads, writing | 1 Comment

Dear Edgar 16 ~ The Business Man

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Mark Hayes

At home, on the shelf above my desk, just to the left of the raven black quill and owl tormented ink stand, and in front of the leather bound scroll case of dubious origin, I have a porcelain phrenology skull, … Continue reading →