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When Edgar Allan Poe entered the University of Virginia in 1826, he was one of only 177 students. The Library moved from Pavilion VII to the Rotunda in September of that year and was open only one hour a day on weekdays. Books could be checked out only one day a week with a professor's approval. When Poe died in 1849, the Library's original collection of over 8,000 volumes had already begun to expand greatly. Although it was soon to outgrow its location in the Rotunda, the Library would not relocate until 1938. Now, 150 years qfter Poe's death, the Library has 14 branches and over 4.5 million volumes serving 21,000 students, faculty, and millions ofweb users all over the world
In honor of Edgar Allan Poe and his time at the University of Virginia, the Associates of the University of Virginia Library and the Raven Society are commemorating the 150th anniversary of Poe's death on Thursday, October 7 at 4:00 p.m. at the U.Va. Chapel.
Open to the public, the program will feature, "Better Late Than Never: The Eulogy for Edgar Allan Poe That Should Have Been," a talk given by Ron Furqueron, a "nineteenth century gentleman" from Historical Impressions, an organization specializing in journeys back in time." Mr. Furqueron will set the record straight and rehabilitate the reputation of Mr. Poe, who was cruelly maligned by his enemies after his untimely death," states Library Associates Program Chair Marv Ann Lawlor.
Following the program in the Chapel, mourners will lay a wreath at the door of Poe's room, 413 West Range, and then proceed to Alderman Library for a rededication of the 1899 ZoInay bust of Poe. Refreshments will be served compliments of the Raven Society, the University's academic honor society, and by the Library Associates, the Library's support group. In keeping with the spirit of the day, musical entertainment by the Library's Ad Hoc Chorus will include settings of Poe's poems. The University Bookstore will offer books by and about Poe at the event for sale. Courtesy of Random House, the first 100 people to purchase a book will receive a free t-shirt. Complimentary copies of the booklet, "Poe at the University" by the late Irby B. Cauthen, Jr. will be given to those in attendance. The booklet includes two letters Poe wrote home to his foster father, John Allan, in which he described fights he witnessed at the University and asked his guardian for soap and a copy of Historiae of Tacitus.
In conjunction with the Poe commemoration, fans of Poe from around the world can view Poe letters online from the collections of the University of Virginia Library, Richmond's Poe Museum and the Valentine Museum. The web site, created by David Seaman, the director of the Library's Electronic Text Center, is located at: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/poe/
For more information about the Poe commemoration, call Sara Lee Barnes of the Library Associates at (804) 243-8656 or e-mail: libassoc@virginia.edu
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