Martha Womack faces a challenge: making a 19th Century writer meaningful to her students in Farmville, Va. Luckily she's a Poe enthusiast and contributor to the Poe Decoder. She even drove to Baltimore for this week's celebration (and sold some t-shirts with her bicentennial design; info, womackme@fuquaschool.com). Her take on teaching Poe:

The first author studied in my English 9 class is always Edgar Allan Poe. I tell them that it is a terrible thing to have an enemy in life, but it is even worse to have one in death. Such is the case of Edgar Allan Poe. From the very first word (just like in a Poe story), I have captured their attention and imaginations. From there, I explain to them how one man is responsible for the character assassination and the misconceptions that we have about this author, and that my mission is to set the record straight. Together, we create an accurate biographical sketch as well as discuss the mystery and theories surrounding Poe's death. By then, they are more than ready for a Poe story.

Poe is not an "easy read," and ninth graders sometimes are confused by Poe's use of language and vocabulary. That's why I start with an easier story like "The Tell-Tale Heart," and work into "The Black Cat" and "The Cask of Amontillado." These are stories that offer a "safe scare" to the students, and soon the difficulty with words seems to disappear as the mystery and the gore come to the surface. Teachers can find vocabulary words/lessons right there in the story - who needs another book? (One of my favorite Poe words is "sagacious"; it's a great word!) Also, Poe provides the teacher an opportunity to show how our language and word meanings can change over time. For example, "singular" in Poe's stories quite often means "strange" or "unusual" not just "one."

 So, as we approach Poe's birthday, my ninth graders are more than ready to begin reading their first Poe story as well as await the news about the Poe toaster visiting Poe's grave on the bicentennial of his birth. Happy Birthday, Poe! You are still going strong after all these years!