Culture Snacks: Baltimore
Edgar Allan Poe, a̶ ̶l̶i̶b̶r̶a̶r̶y̶, The Library, and an Aquarium
The weekend that my fiancé was performing with the Baltimore Symphony, we managed to pack a couple more culture snacks in.
Edgar Allan Poe’s home and grave
After writing my matriculating English thesis on Edgar Allan Poe’s works, I had fantasized about his world. Suddenly I was there, and I had to see everything.
And what was there was incredible, it is just a shame that there wasn’t a bit more.
We saw his memorial and grave, which was appropriately spooky and raven adorned. We read about how the French took a liking to him when he was largely ignored in the US. We learned about the “penny campaign” to create a memorial, and about his birthday celebration ghost.
We went to his house (or one of his houses) and saw what may have been his writing desk, and what may or may not have been his bedroom. This place was, I’m not going to lie, a bit underwhelming. The house was normal, there was a lot of guesswork about his history and the gift-shop was richer than the exhibit.
The highlight of the museum, really, were the quotes that other authors wrote about him. It gave me the same feelings as that scene in Doctor Who when Van Gogh is brought back to the future and sees that despite his criticism during his lifetime, his legacy was world-shaking.
This could have all been enriched with something a bit more proximate: his hand-writings are still existing. His original photographs exist too. Something more original or more close to him would have elevated the exhibition from one that felt a little bit superficial.
Takeaway
- Sometimes you need something with a bit of weight to lend legitimacy and depth, to clear you from the kitsch/exploitation domain.
The Library
I don’t need to say too much, I guess.
This is the most beautiful library I have ever seen.
Live out your Belle fantasies. Have a blast.
The Aquarium
I could write a page on this aquarium, but I won’t, because it would mainly be things like “wow I can’t believe I saw a stingray bigger than a dining table/sea turtle that looked bigger than a mini cooper/dolphin doing a backflip and having a blast with its trainer/serene pond of jellyfish/rare Brazilian golden monkey/school of sharks/…”.
My only criticism is that this Aquarium could learn from places like Taronga Zoo and the Columbus Zoo about integrating education and conservation into the exhibits, rather than tacking them on.
