romances beyond the grave.

If you're heading west into the city from 64 and you look to your right, you can catch a glimpse of two incredibly beautiful cemeteries beckoning to you from the hillside.  Years ago my curiosity got the better of me and I googled until I figured out which cemeteries they were: Shockoe Hill and Hebrew.  We paid an evening visit to the neighborhood, which was terrifying, but not for any ghostly reason.  I remember thinking that Shockoe was in a state of disrepair that placed it somewhere between Hollywood and Evergreen on the upkeep spectrum: not mowed and manicured neatly like Hollywood, and not so choked in vines you couldn't see the tombstones like Evergreen.  How fortunate we are to live in a city that has such varied graveyards, so gorgeous in their own ways.  I've driven around Shockoe a few times since, but never gotten to spend as much time there as I've wanted to.

On Valentine's Day we attended an event at Shockoe Hill Cemetery called "Romances Beyond the Grave."  We weren't able to stay for the whole time, but we enjoyed what we saw so much that I can't wait to go back.  We made our way through the snow-covered cemetery to the Keeper's House, a small brick structure where coffee and rainbow cookies awaited us.

The Friends of Shockoe Hill Cemetery put on the event, and I must say that I love their enthusiasm and am looking forward to more events they might hold there.  Although I adore an overgrown, forgotten cemetery just as much as a kept-up one, this group has been obliged to devote themselves to taking care of the place since the city does such a rotten job of it. And, by George, we do have an historically important grave or two there -- so it seems like we might want to foster pride and tourism by keeping the hedges clipped.  Here are some things the Friends mentioned as being in the works for the future:

• A searchable database of all the folks buried there
  
• Theater nights in conjunction with the Poe Museum
• Rotating exhibits in the Keeper's House

Sounds fantastic.  I can't wait!

Our friend Chris Semtner, curator at the Poe Museum, showed a slideshow and gave a talk about Edgar Allan Poe's relationship with Elmira Royster Shelton.

Often when I hear Chris speak I learn things that an amateur Poe geek such as myself wouldn't already know, and likewise, there were several tidbits I didn't know about the Edgar-Elmira story.  We all know that Edgar was engaged to her as a teenager, but that when he went to school at UVA, her father hid Poe's letters to her.  Thinking he wasn't writing to her at all (tantamount to being dumped in those days), she went ahead and got engaged to someone else.  Many years later when both of their spouses had long been dead, Poe courted her again and they got re-engaged. Here are some of the new things I learned:

• After not receiving any letters from her at college, Poe stopped by her house upon his return to Richmond and totally crashed her engagement party.  POE FAIL.  The poem published in Tamerlane and Other Poems entitled "To -- --" probably refers to this unfortunate event.
• Poe's brother Henry wrote a short story entitled The Pirate, which was based on Edgar and Elmira's tragic romance.  I cannot find an online source for this story, so if anybody knows where to find it, please let me know!
• "Tamerlane," Poe's epic poem, seems to be another tribute to the heartbreak.  Here's a synopsis of the plot a la Wikipedia: "Tamerlane ignores the young love he has for a peasant in order to achieve power. On his deathbed, he regrets this decision to create 'a kingdom [in exchange] for a broken-heart.'"  This makes sense, since the poem was published in Poe's first book shortly after moving to Boston after the Elmira issue.
• After Poe moved back to Richmond and was married to his wife, Virginia, they ran into Elmira and her husband at a party.  Elmira later said that it was "agony" to see him with his new wife, and that she had to be taken home early she was so upset.  Sounds like a typical night running into exes at Richmond bars!
• Years later when both Poe and Elmira were single again, he went to her house but the maid wouldn't let him see her.  He argued with the maid, and Elmira came downstairs to see what all the fuss was about.  She told him to go away too, but eventually (after more visits) he won her over and she let herself fall for him again.  It was about this time that he wrote "Ulalume."  ::sigh::
• Poe gave Elmira several lovely little trinkets during their second courtship, including a locket emblazoned with both of their initials and housing a bit of his hair.
• Elmira's husband's will had stated that if she should remarry, she would lose 2/3 of her inheritance from him.  It says a lot that in those infinitely practical times she was willing to get engaged to Poe -- a guy who was never financially secure.
• As Poe died a bizarre death in Baltimore, he babbled about getting back to his Elmira.
• Poe had wanted "Annabel Lee" published with his wedding announcement, but instead it was published with his obituary.  Classic Poe -- so much gother than you, because he posthumously published a romantic yet fatalistic poem.

What can I say?  I love this guy in all his imperfect, chaotic glory. Romances beyond the grave, indeed.