October 19, 2006

Poe’s Mysterious Life subject of Halloween Discussion

Dr. Pat Roby leads discussion at UW-WC

UW-Washington County will host a lecture on Edgar Allan Poe’s mysterious life and creative works on Tuesday evening, October 31 at 5pm in the campus library. The public is invited to spend a spine-tingling Halloween night with Poe through a sometimes chilling, sometimes humorous look at the author’s life. There is no charge and everyone is welcome to attend.

Date:   Tuesday, October 31:  5pm-6pm

Discussion: The Creative Works, Mysterious Life and Deconstruction of Edgar Allan Poe:
                     Fiction, Fact and Speculation

Led by: Dr. Patricia Roby, UW-WC English Professor

Overview:  Poe was a misunderstood writer and person, feared by American authors and venerated by the French who saw psychological conflicts, repressed desires and alienation. His writings reveal a narrative persona desiring to be understood. As Joseph Conrad said, “a narrator must deconstruct himself to understand himself” which is what Poe attempts to do in his poetry and by thematically and symbolically compartmentalizing his stories. What drove Poe in his life explains his fears and anxieties about death and beautiful women, and suggests an inability to “rest.”

UW-Washington County is located at 400 University Drive in West Bend. The campus library is on the second floor and is open during the fall and spring semesters Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  For more information about the library or the lecture, phone 262-335-5214.