I, like any other self-respecting sub-adult human, enjoyed a pronounced “Poe Phase” as I came of age. The dark and confusing subterranean world of adolescence finds a twisted and kindred soul in Edgar Allan Poe’s work – the Master of Symbolism. How can an awkward and slightly-deranged teenage girl not discover meaning in classics like “The Pit and the Pendulum” or “The Mask of the Red Death”? Brilliant. Poe was my first taste of a concept that would come to shape my entire inner sanctum of creative thought: words mean things. Also brilliant.
There is no question (or, at the least, just very silly ones) that Poe’s work creates a stunning and dramatic background for self-aware misfit youth (i.e. nerds that Feel Things), but dark inspiration from our Twisted Mister alights on more than just the teenaged wasteland. Join local author Kelly Creagh as she presents her latest Poe-inspired installment of teen drama and romance, the newly-released Enshadowed.
The sequel to the bestselling breakout novel, Nevermore, Creagh’s Enshadowed brings the high school heroes, Varen and Isobel, back into the world of darkened dreams surrounding Poe’s writing. Creagh, a 2008 graduate from Spalding’s MFA in Creative Writing program, is a fellow Louisvillian and drew much of her inspiration for the trilogy setting from the Victorian backdrop of her Old Louisville digs (we’re totally neighbors!). Catch Creagh’s modern macabre storytelling at Carmichael’s Bookstore tomorrow, Tuesday, September 18th at 7pm as she reads selections from Enshadowed and pens signatures. Copies of Enshadowed are available at both Carmichael’s Bookstore locations in hardcover for $17.99; Nevermore is also for sale in paperback for $9.99.
With Fall mere days away and Halloween on the horizon, channel your inner Goth and swap sun and sweetness for a few pages of the dark, daring and sinister. And later on we can all write confessional poetry together.
Carmichael’s Bookstore as two area locations: 1295 Bardstown Road and 2720 Frankfort Avenue. For more information, visit the event page or call the Frankfort Avenue store at (502) 896-6950.
Image: Courtesy of Carmichael’s Bookstore website www.carmichaelsbookstore.com
