Forgotten Lore

An Edgar Allan Poe impersonator will bring ‘The Raven’ to life just in time for Halloween.

By: Hank Kalet

TIM COX

   Tim Cox has been in love with the writing of Edgar Allan Poe since he was a kid.
   "I can remember finding a collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s works in my father’s library when I was 8 or 9," he says. "He had a chest of books and papers in the room where he used to do his check writing and taxes. It was on the upper shelf. He had these books and he was trying to encourage me to read them."
   That was about the time that he first visited the Edgar Allan Poe House in his native Philadelphia. He took the books down and started reading. He’s been reading Poe ever since.
   On Oct. 24, Mr. Cox plans to bring his love of Poe to a wider audience when he transforms himself into one of America’s greatest authors and reads two of his greatest works, "The Raven" and "The Black Cat," at East Jersey Olde Towne Village in Piscataway. The performance is part of a weekend celebration of Halloween that will feature arts and crafts and other storytellers.
   Mr. Cox was trained as a stage actor and has been working as a historical tour guide in Philadelphia for more than 10 years. He has been working with the American Historical Theatre, which is sponsoring his performance, for nearly as long, playing an array of figures from Philadelphia history, as well as founding father James Madison. He has been impersonating Poe for about two years.
   "He is a juicy character, a naturally dramatic figure," he says. "He is someone who is easy and fun to impersonate. Having memorized ‘The Raven,’ it is fun to recite. I can see why people would pay money in the 1840s to see him recite it."
   Mr. Cox prepares for his roles by doing as much reading as possible, applying as much of what he learns as he can to his performance.
   "He was apparently egotistical," he says. "He thought he was immensely talented. He had a higher opinion of himself than most of his contemporaries did of him and that made him hard to get along with."
   Mr. Cox will perform for about an hour, mixing in historical and biographical details with the poem and short story. Poe was born in Richmond, Va., in 1809, the son of a famous actress, and was later adopted.
   "At first, he thought he was going to have a military career," Mr. Cox says. "He studied at West Point and was a member of the Army until his drinking got the best of him. So he went back to what he knew best, which was writing and editing."
   And there were plenty of publications for him to work with. "Magazines and newspapers proliferated to the same extent that cable channels do today," he says. "As soon as he got fired, it was easy for him to find another one."
   He wrote poems and stories, articles and reviews, Mr. Cox says, but he often did not get paid or had to wait long periods before being paid.
   "While others made millions of dollars off his work, he only made thousands of dollars and that was mainly by being asked to recite his work in lecture halls," he says.
   Mr. Cox says Poe tends to be most popular around Halloween, though his place in American literature should generate more interest.
   "He is viewed as a guy who concentrated on the macabre," he says. "People don’t seem to think of Poe much except around Halloween. As soon as people’s thoughts turn to witches, ghosts and goblins, they tend to think of Poe. He is one of the real-life people Americans can claim for themselves as a macabre author."
Tim Cox portrays Edgar Allan Poe at East Jersey Olde Towne Village, 1050 River Road, Piscataway, Oct. 24, 2 p.m. It is part of Halloween Storytelling by Lantern Light, sponsored by the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Other events include Kathy Pierce and Halloween tales, Bobby Gonzalez and Native American ghost and spirit stories, and Dave Emerson and folk tales from Ireland and New Jersey, Oct. 22-23, 7 and 8 p.m.; and a children’s craft session Oct. 22, 7 p.m. All events are free. To register, call (732) 745-3030; persons with hearing impairments call (732) 745-3888 or 711 via the New Jersey Relay Service.