tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499582243291531753.post5821923256623793575..comments2023-10-12T07:13:01.637-04:00Comments on The American Literary Blog: Guest post: Death of Poe and HolmesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499582243291531753.post-24080646798231086572010-10-10T11:51:46.451-04:002010-10-10T11:51:46.451-04:00Matthew, thank you for mentioning THE BONE GARDEN...Matthew, thank you for mentioning THE BONE GARDEN!<br /><br />I was drawn to Oliver Wendell Holmes as a character because of his contributions to science and medicine. As the first American physician to point out the link between childbed fever and the unclean hands of medical practitioners, he alone probably saved the lives of thousands of women. <br /><br />I also felt a personal attachment to him because we have something in common. While I was growing up, my father gave me the same advice that Holmes heard from his father: "There's no money to be made as a writer, so you'd better find a career that will support you!" Like Holmes, I too ended up studying medicine, at the urging of my father. And like Holmes, I too finally found my way back to writing, which was always my first love. <br /><br />How I wish I could have met him!Tess Gerritsenhttp://www.tessgerritsen.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499582243291531753.post-20695287545970369242010-10-07T11:31:48.925-04:002010-10-07T11:31:48.925-04:00Matthew, thank you very much for the unsolicited p...Matthew, thank you very much for the unsolicited plug! I think the experience of having our books come out together really reinforces for me the multiplicity of “Poes” out there – everyone has his own, steeped in myth – as well as the multifariousness of Poe himself. I catch him at the brink of adulthood, you catch him at the end of his life (and beyond), and there are times we could be talking about two entirely different men. Poe refuses to come down on either side of the spectrum. He was a poet; he was a fierce critic of other poets. He was insecure; he was vainglorious. He was a devoted family man; he was a stubborn individualist. I sometimes think his very indeterminacy is what gives him his enduring fascination. <br /><br />Well, that and those amazing stories. “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could….” I only have to hear those words, and I’m transported back to the catacombs of Montresor’s palazzo. And I marvel all over again at Poe’s ability to get under our skin.<br /><br />Great blog, thanks!<br /><br />Lou BayardLouis Bayardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17695861931898715491noreply@blogger.com