It is impossible to overstate the penetration of “The Raven” into American culture. It’s still the only poem with its own NFL football team, the Baltimore Ravens. That is where Edgar Allen Poe died and is buried. But just one year prior to his sad and mysterious end, he had visited Providence to pursue a …
One of the Providence Athenaeum’s most notable visitors was Edgar Allan Poe. In 1848 he traveled to the city in order to meet and court the wealthy widow and talented poet, Sarah Helen Whitman, with whom he happened to share a birthday, January 19th. She had once written a poem to Poe, to be shared …
Edgar Allan Poe & Helen Whitman — Birthday Twins Read More »
(8.21) Get ready for the return of Necronomicon Providence, the world’s premier weird fiction convention brought to you by the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council. People travel from around the world to take part in this four-day celebration of weird fiction, art, and academia, right here in Providence, the home and final resting place of …
Although only H.P. Lovecraft fans may pick up on that. Label designer Gage Prentiss originally had the author’s name on the front but it seems to have . . . disappeared. The talented Mr. Prentiss may be better known for his amazing sculptural works: The statue of Lovecraft and his cats, and, more recently, the …
Dante Alighieri died just prior to the arrival of the Black Death in Italy, but the bubonic plague had afflicted the country in the past, and there were other epidemic contagions with which he would have been familiar: leprosy, smallpox, tuberculosis, anthrax. So he would have understood the need for masks, and according to his …
Either the new HBO eight-episode series ‘Lovecraft Country’ is going to be really really good, or this is an excellent trailer . . . or both. Based on Matt Ruff’s novel of the same name, Lovecraft Country follows Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) as he meets up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) and his Uncle …
(2.21) Noted science fiction author James L. Cambias will be reading from his new occult adventure novel “The Initiate” this Friday at the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council in the Arcade. (Facebook event page.) As we move through the deepest parts of this “winter,” we’re happy to feature a few great voices in dark fiction …
Lovecraft walking tours leave from the John Brown House Museum this weekend and next. Tickets include a ticket to the Horror Festival and can be purchased online. Hosted by the RIIFF: The life and work of Providence’s best-known fantasy and horror author, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, will provide the backdrop for the tour, which will be …
(8.25) Weird fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft was born in Providence on August 20, 1890, died in 1937, and was buried at Swan Point Cemetery. The epitaph on his headstone reads: “I Am Providence.” And yet, until very recently, the city had not made much of this, nor given any thought to his enormous international following. …
Waiting. Watching. This statue of H.P. Lovecraft is part of Ars Necronomica: Dark Dreams in the Divine City, a new exhibit at the Providence Art Club opening Tuesday (you can go see the statue now). This show ties in with the upcoming Lovecraftian literature convention, Necronomicon Providence, to be held later in the month. (We’ll …
(4.14) The annual gathering commemorating the life and work of H.P. Lovecraft will take place Sunday at 3pm at the Ladd Observatory. Visitors today can get a bonus look at the daytime moon. (Facebook event.) An annual gathering recognizing the life and unique literary contributions of Mr. Lovecraft. He was an avid, amateur astronomer This …
This 1884 edition of “The Raven” illustrated by Gustave Doré is just one of the gems in Ravenous: The Enduring Legacy of Poe, the new exhibit at the Providence Athenaeum. Poe hair! Highlights from the Athenæum’s collection include Poe’s signature, a portrait of Sarah Helen Whitman, a print of Le Corbeau “The Raven” by Édouard …
(2.23) That’s weird, as in weird fiction, for the uninitiated. The Arcade Asylum Series at the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council will be hosting four authors this Saturday. The event is free but seating is limited. ( Facebook event.) Join us to experience an evening of horrific visions invoked by some of the strongest voices …
(2.24) Each year the English Speaking Union challenges high school students from across the country to learn and perform one sonnet and one monologue from Shakespeare’s vast collection of works. For the fourth year the Providence Athenaeum will be hosting the regional competition. Through the competition, students develop communication skills and an appreciation of the …
(10.12) Attention impulsive/procrastinating Moby-Dick fans: This is for you. The Brown University English Department will be hosting a day-long symposium Friday on Herman Melville. Herman Melville’s towering “Moby Dick” crosses oceans, spans centuries, imagines new forms of life and still has readers captivated. On the eve of the author’s bicentennial, a day-long symposium hosted by …
Today is the birthday of Providence author H.P. Lovecraft — what better time to check in on the statue project. Last week, sculptor Gage Prentiss posted this photo on the project Facebook page adding, “Here is a taste of the newly cast bronze life size statue of H P Lovecraft! There is still welding, chasing, …