Hurrah

'Funeral' honours Edgar Allan Poe

So many Poe fans are expected to attend that the service will be repeated, after an all-night vigil at his graveside in the eastern US port city [of his native Baltimore].

Virtually no-one turned up for his original funeral in 1849.

Edgar Allan Poe - the inventor of the detective story and creator of horror writing - is one of the most influential American writers ever.

But he died an impoverished lunatic at the age of 40.

His tombstone was destroyed. An enemy wrote his obituary and damaged his reputation for decades.

As if to make up for all these disasters, Poe is being royally treated this year.

YKWIA told me about this one. It's a pity I can't attend.