DDHS students to discuss Poe with noted scholar during Big Read event

Edgar Allan Poe

DELAVAN —Noted scholar Robert M. Kachur will be presenting a special lecture and discussion to 150 Delavan-Darien High School sophomore English students about the inner workings of Edgar Allan Poe’s work.

The hour-long discussion is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, April 29, at DDHS, 150 Cummings St. The media is invited to attend.

What is it about Edgar Allan Poe’s writings that still scares and fascinates us over 150 years since his death? In this discussion, Kachur will explore the dark nooks and crannies of several of Poe’s works in order to try to understand their mysterious undercurrents, paying special attention to Poe’s uncanny ability to anticipate the fears and anxieties that would haunt Americans for generations to come.

In addition, Kachur will discuss the Poe that most of us don’t know — the trickster, the philosopher, and the student of medicine, law and psychology.

Kachur is a professor of English at McDaniel College, where he teaches 18^th Century and 19^th Century British literature, horror fiction, and gives seminars on Poe.

Kachur is a lecturer on Edgar Allan Poe for the Maryland Humanities Council and is the author of publications on Poe’s short stories.

His speaking engagement at DDHS is part of The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.

The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with The Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Additional sponsorship support is provided by American Family Insurance and Associated Bank. Media sponsors are The Janesville Gazette and the Jefferson County Daily Union.

Kachur will also lead two free public discussions about Poe on:

• Thursday April 28, at 5:30 p.m. at UW-Rock County, Commons Meeting Room in Hyatt Smith Hall, 2909 Kellogg Ave., Janesville.

• Friday April 29, 5 p.m. at Horticultural Hall, 330 Broad St., Lake Geneva.