IslandVibesIOP.com 23 Poe Avenue. Poe Library. And of course, Poe’s Tavern. Then there’s Gold Bug Avenue and Raven Avenue, a nod to two famous works by the literary genius, Edgar Allan Poe. But what drives Sullivan Island’s obsession with the man? He wasn’t even a local. Sure, he spent a little time on the island a couple hundred years ago. He wasn’t famous back then, yet there seems to be no end to the reverence for Poe in these parts. Known as the master of the macabre holding an eerie fascination with death, Poe drew inspiration for two of his masterpieces from his brief time living on Sullivan’s Island. If there was ever a place that could ignite the imagination, it was the jungle that was Sullivan’s Island in the early 19th century. In 1828, Poe was a young soldier who apparently was awed by the island’s lush tropical landscape at that time. Picture today’s maritime forest on steroids. And while on duty at Fort Moultrie, he likely heard tales from the locals about the area’s history of piracy. So why wouldn’t a talented writer imagine what might lie hidden among the sabal palms and moss-draped oaks that blanketed the island? His vivid description of the foliage in his short story “The Gold Bug” makes it easy for the reader to envision. For good measure, add in one of those shiny green June beetles that whiz past at breakneck speed in the summertime. Known colloquially as fingaters (or fig eaters) in Charlestonese, an encounter HISTORY A Penchant for Poe The history behind the SI place-names By Mary Coy with one of them was undoubtedly a curiosity to this man “from off.” Their shine is rather pretty and they are totally harmless, but what good is that when conjuring up a tale of mystery and intrigue? So, Poe made the bug the story’s protagonist, adding to the mystique. He also changed its color to gold to emphasize man’s lust for riches. Another of Poe’s literary connections to Charleston is the poem “Annabel Lee,” the tragic lament of two young lovers who cannot be together on this earth, but no force, human or divine, will ever be able to keep them apart. Local lore frequently involves the supernatural, and this creepily romantic saga pops up on just about every ghost tour. Whether Poe actually got his inspiration for the poem from a romantic relationship he had while living here will never be known. But that doesn’t deter local tour guides from weaving the tale into their own narrative when stopping by the graveyard of the Unitarian Church downtown. So, the next time you are in Poe’s Tavern enjoying a Raven burger, a crabcake atop an Annabel Lee chicken sandwich or one of the many food choices named for Poe’s other famous works, don’t miss the haunting images that adorn the walls of this shrine to the renowned writer. Better yet, read these two literary classics yourself. And maybe also take a closer look around the island. Perhaps that treasure Poe wrote about really is here.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjcyNTM1