Chautauqua Festival 2026 – Revolutionary Americans – Edgar Allan Poe

Hear his story in his own words. Edgar Poe was scarcely two when his father abandoned the family, leaving an ailing wife and three children. When he was three, his mother died and the children were separated to live with others. Edgar became the foster child of Virginia merchant John Allan. He later attended admitted the University of Virginia but was forced to take out loans to pay for it. To pay off the loans he disastrously tried gambling to win the money, instead falling deeper into debt. After many trials and tribulations, Poe became the editor of several of the nation’s most successful literary magazines. These often featured his own original short stories, poems and literary essays. With the writing of “The Raven,” Poe’s talent became recognized nationwide. He toured the states giving literary reviews, poetry demonstrations and even scientific lectures. But his great successes were punctuated by bouts of drunkenness and depression, especially after the early death of his wife at the age of 24 following her extended struggle with tuberculosis. Poe was never an ordinary hail-fellow-well-met. He was dark, moody, always looking for love and acceptance and talented beyond his peers. From his childhood to his death, he created wonderfully crafted poetry and memorable tales and now seems to those who study his life and his works as if he were himself a character from one of his own stories.

Larry Bounds (Edgar Allen Poe)

Larry Bounds has been a Chautauqua performer since 2002, presenting an assortment of figures including Churchill, Einstein, Houdini and Disney for festivals from Florida to Colorado and Nevada. This year he is revisiting one of his favorite authors: Edgar Allan Poe, a haunted, literary genius that he taught about in his English classes for decades. In 2019 Larry retired as a nationally certified teacher after 35 years in the classroom. He earned his B.A. in theatre and an M.S. in Education from The University of Tennessee. Larry also still regularly performs as a professional magician as he has since 1973 when he performed for 8 years for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! He lives in Greer, South Carolina with his wife Carole, is active in Mensa and serves on
several community boards.

Based in Greenville, SC, Chautauqua History Comes Alive is interactive theater and the performances offer an astonishing journey into the past allowing the audience to hear stories of the characters in their own words. This year’s character performances are Rebecca Motte (Saturday, June 13); Paul Robeson (Tuesday, June 16); Mother Jones (Thursday, June 18); Captain Henry Felder Saturday, June 20); and Edgar Allan Poe (Tuesday, June 23). Doors open one hour before show, seating is first come, first served. The Chautauqua Festival at the Transylvania County Library is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of the Library.