Hudson Valley Learning Poe

Published in: MyMarist575.com and Marist College's school newspaper, "The Circle"

Around the time that the Hudson Valley was being described in the tales of “The Legend of Sleepy Hallow” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” Edgar Allan Poe was establishing his career as a short story writer and poet. During this year’s “Big Read” of the Hudson Valley, the entire community is paying homage to the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

The Big Read works to get the community to unify and gain knowledge on a certain text or a particular author. Cities from across the country get their communities together for The Big Read, and Poughkeepsie recently started to take part. Poughkeepsie’s Public Library has an executive board that includes all kinds of members from the community, to help formulate The Big Read, and decide what the program will be based upon.

For Poughkeepsie’s fourth Big Read, the program chose the “Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe.” In the past, the program chose “To Kill a Mocking Bird,” and the “Great Gatsby,” but for the first time, the readers will focus on one author instead of a specific text. The program holds around 40 different activities held between Oct. 3 and Oct. 31.

Different presenters ranging from Dutchess Community College English professor John Desmond, Vassar College English professor Amitava Kumar and Marist English professor Dr. Stephen Mercier all give a different representation of Poe’s work. Other authors like Dr. Elliot Engel, who wrote "A Dab of Dickens & A Touch of Twain," and Mitch Horowitz, who wrote "Occult America," were brought to the Hudson Valley to teach the history of Poe and the literature he had written. Some presentations are centered for a younger crowd, like students in elementary through high school and others are for the community as a whole.

“Each year The Big Read gets bigger and better,” Library Director Tom Lawrence said. “We are thrilled to welcome the renowned Dr. Elliot Engel to Poughkeepsie as our 2010 Opening Reception guest.”

The Big Read gets donations from particular grants from the state that must be applied for. This year’s exhibition received less money than last, according toDesmond, but the Steering Committee was still able to put on great programs. Gareth Davis for the past four years has been responsible for getting the grants for the program, which essentially has made The Big Read possible.

For the programs given on Oct. 19 and 20, Professor Desmond described the logistics of adapting a piece of writing to a movie. Many of Poe’s short stories as well as poems were transcribed into a movie or television episode. A film can become a close, loose or intermediate adaptation of a piece of literature. Desmond gave the demonstration of “Poe Goes to the Movies” both nights; one event for the whole community and the next for a group of local students from Ketcham elementary and high school. Both renditions held the same material but were tailored to the audience, as did the discussion that proceeded.

“A film is a loose adaptation, when none of the narrative aspects are there,” Desmond said. “There is no exact correspondence between adaptations.”

After showing three adaptations of “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the plot, themes and differences between the genres were discussed amongst the audience, which completely changed when the same questions were asked to the younger crowd. Desmond also had another professor read the poem “The Raven,” and showed “The Simpsons’” rendition of the poem. The cartoon edition was a hit amongst both crowds, and showed how influential the 19th century work still has on today’s society.

“The Big Read is a very innovative and creative way to bring a community, and in this case a county, together,” Desmond said. “I only hope that it carries on.”

When the elementary and high school came to Dutchess Community College for “Poe Goes to the Movies for Students,” many different classes from the ninth grade attended.

“Kids can visualize the intricate writings of Poe,” said Nicole Caruso, ninth grade English teacher at Ketcham High School. The teachers were pleased to have the children from a broad range of ages be exposed to the original works of Poe.

The Big Read has a program almost every day until Halloween, tailored for children, tweens and adults. The programs given for the rest of the month are given at http://www.neabigread.org/communities/?community_id=1183 orhttp://www.poklib.org/documents/0910BigReadInsert.pdf.