What inspired me to re-unite Edgar Allan Poe with his Annabel Lee came to me when I was inspired by the tango, the dance filled with romantic passion. We love those scary stories Poe created, but Annabel Lee has been one of the best romantic poems of all time. Why, I asked, have I not been able to find any artwork on re-uniting these two.
Actually, Annabel Lee was not a real person. Never existed. I, like others, would want to believe she did and on that premise I couldn't help but paint them together again in the afterlife and dancing in the graveyard.
Dancing has the passion of romance and seems so symbolic of this couple in love who should be able to enjoy it forever.
Edgar Allan Poe has that mystery about him that makes us wonder about ourselves. We search for love and feel the pain life offers in return. Poe didn't fight it. He joined it to express it in terms he understood and wished to share. Ghost stories and the art that expresses them seem to reveal one important thing. Life after death, no matter how scary some of it looks, gives hope that we never really die, just transform.
As you can see, I have the piano man as a ghostly skeleton while Poe and Annabel have ghostly human forms. The dates on the tombstone for Annabel Lee reflect the dates of Poe's wife. And you will find a fine bottle of whisky and three roses on Poe's tombstone which was actually left by a mysterious unknown stranger for a number of years until he passed away.
Interestingly enough, Poe never really drank since he was reported to have been allergic to alcohol. More about Poe will be forthcoming in the future. If you would like to hear the poem of Annabel Lee and the Raven, please go to the following URL: http://www.twilightartzone.com/edgar-allan-poe.html
If you have any questions or comments, please share them.
Thank you for coming.
Glenn Holbrook
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