Hear the stories behind some of Edgar Allan Poe’s most popular works in this curated virtual presentation by the expert curator at the Poe Museum.

For over a century, the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, has searched the globe in order to amass the world’s largest collection of Poe’s artifacts. Although Edgar Allan Poe may be better known for writing tales of terror, he always considered himself a poet and many of his greatest poems are dedicated to the loves of his life. Why are we still reading Poe’s works? Who was the man behind such classic work as The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart? This virtual presentation will answer these questions while providing an overview of Poe’s life and literary contributions.

What to expect: Learn about the life and legacy of Edgar Allan Poe, one of America’s most popular poets.

Zoom course (no recording)

Chris Semtner, Poe Museum Curator

Chris Semtner is an internationally recognized expert on Poe's work with 20 years’ experience at the Poe Museum. He has written books on topics including Poe, visual art, and cryptography, in addition to contributing articles to Biography.com, Resources for American Literary Studies, Crime Writers’ Chronicle, and The Edgar Allan Poe Review. He has curated exhibits for museums and galleries across the country. His Library of Virginia exhibit, Poe: Man, Myth, or Monster, garnered the praise of The New York Times while his Poe Museum exhibits have earned that institution honors from TIME Magazine, USA Today, and others. In search of exciting ways to bring Poe to new audiences, Semtner has collaborated on Poe-themed performances with groups including the Latin Ballet of Virginia, the Garth Newel Music Center, and Shockoe Hill Cemetery. In addition to appearing on BBC, PBS, Travel Channel, Military History, NPR, CNN, and other networks, Semtner regularly speaks about a variety of unusual, obscure, and macabre subjects to groups of all ages around the country and as far away as Japan. Semtner is also an internationally exhibited visual artist whose paintings have entered several public and private collections.