EDGAR ALLAN POE’S “THE RAVEN” For Halloween.

The raven perches on a bust of Pallas Athena, a symbol of wisdom meant to imply the narrator is a scholar. Illustration by Édouard Manet for Stéphane Mallarmé's translation, Le Corbeau (1875).

All Hallows Eve is just around the corner and I thought I’d commemorate it with this reading I did of Edgar Allan Poe’s celebrated eerie tour de force for BFM a few years ago.  

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door…..”

Published in 1845 by the American writer who loved the macabre and the mysterious, it caused a sensation and made him a household name. Even Abraham Lincoln memorized it. Poe would famously recite the poem to a rapt audience seated in a darkened room. 

Do listen while sipping a faourite beverage, at night, in a room lit by only a flickering candle and enjoy the tale of the visit by a talking raven to a man lamenting the loss of his love. 

I hope you find my little trick - beautifully produced and edited by Soon Heng Lim – a creepy treat! 

Thank you BFM and Soon Heng.