A bit of Amontillado for toasting Poe
Our Mystery Book Club kicked off our year to remember Edgar Allan Poe at its annual picnic on June 26, 2015. Among Poe’s many contributions to literature during his short life (1809-1949) were stories that may have kicked off the private detective genre and the dark tale or noir genre. At the picnic, Mike O’Connor shared a bottle of Amontillado with the members, and then offered a toast to Poe that included references to Poe’s influence on Arthur Conan Doyle and a quote from Poe’s A Cask of Amontillado.
Continuing the spirit of Poe-fun, I read to the group John Steinbeck’s short story, The Affair at 7 Rue de M, written in the style of Poe. This supposedly dark tale was about the horror of a piece of bubblegum that seemed to take on a life of its own and could not be destroyed nor deterred from re-entering the mouth of an innocent child.
It is all about mystery book fan fun!
Dick Goutal (that’s this blogger) reading aloud, The Affair at 7 Rue de M
Thanks to Carol McKenna for the photo
