Does Philly really want Poe's body?

Apparently there is a struggle between the literary circles in Philadelphia and in Baltimore, MD as to where Edgar Allan Poe ought to be buried. About a year ago, Poe scholar Edward Pettit published a cover article in City Paper explaining why we should collect the body of Poe from its place of repose in Maryland. Pettit's argument centers on the fact that most of Poe's early successes occurred in this city, and that much of his best work was done here. In fact, he says, no other author can boast such an impressive catalog produced in Philadelphia. Anyone who is familiar with Poe's biography understands why it is so hard to decide where he "should be" buried. He lived and worked in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn and Richmond, VA.

He moved around in part because of his tendency to make enemies, which impeded the advancement his literary career. Baltimore was his place of death and Boston his place of birth, though the latter doesn't much care what becomes of his body. Baltimore's major claim is that that is where he died and has been buried for near 160 years. To be honest, I'm satisfied with that. Is it really imperative that we exhume a corpse more than a century-an- a-half dead? What good would that really do us? It might bring attention to Poe's writing, but putting Poe's work into the public eye is not necessarily the same as encouraging people to read him.

The benefits we might derive from first convincing the authorities and concerned scholars in Baltimore to give up the body and then digging it up, moving it, and reburying it here are hardly worth the effort. Why bother? Pettit points out that the mystery genre was literally invented by Poe in Philadelphia. That's phenomenal. Does the proximity of his putrescent remains really commemorate that? The high level of violent crime in the city inspired Poe to write detective stories. I suggest that we try to reduce the violent crime rate here today. That seems like a fitting tribute, unless you happen to think that we're better of hoping to spawn another literary genius by dint of the gruesome risk of living here.

Really, while we're on the topic, I can think of a dozen other problems we might want to solve before worrying about who should or should not be buried here. Here's a good one: how many kids in our city school system can actually read "The Pit and the Pendulum"? Really, anything you want to point to in Poe could become metaphor for something that affects living people in Philadelphia. The narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart" was dangerously insane- what is the state of our mental health care facilities? "The Fall of the House of Usher" - hey, we have a bunch of homeless people here, I bet they would like a place to sleep, while we're trying to accommodate Poe. You see where I"m gong with this- it's not that hard, folks. The last thing we should be worried about is Poe's place of burial. Most people have a thousand things they want to pay attention to that don't matter. Moving someone's body here is a ridiculous addition to that list.

More on Palin

Sarah Palin is a major gambit. The ubiquitous sports metaphor among pundits has it that she is a Hail Mary pass, a last-ditch effort to bolster a desperate Republican campaign. The Alaska governor was a dark horse when Sen. John McCain announced her as his running mate Aug. 29. Her nomination seems carefully tailored to appeal to the electoral blocs in which Sen. Barack Obama is perceived as weak. Palin should play very well with the voters supposedly alienated by Obama's infamous gaffe two weeks before the Pennsylvania primary in April. Obama was speaking at a private fundraiser in San Francisco when he said that, in reaction to the indifference of the Powers That Be, rural voters in Pennsylvania "cling" to the Second Amendment, religion, and xenophobia. Apparently dwelling on Obama's five-month-old comment, McCain and his people chose the evangelical governor of a state with an even stronger gun culture than we have in Pennsylvania.

During her acceptance speech, Palin brought up Obama's comment, saying that Obama addresses working class voters with respect when he speaks in Scranton, Penn., but mocks them behind their backs in San Francisco. The problem with Obama's comment in April was not that it betrayed a lack of understanding of the working class; indeed, there is a great deal of bitterness among the working class in this state. Gun ownership and church attendance are high in rural areas of Pennsylvania. These are cultural pillars which remain constant in the lives of blue-collar voters buffeted by the sort of things Obama and Biden talk about in stump speeches. Obama was obnoxious in his delivery, but his observation was sound. In the days since the Republican Convention, he and his running mate have pointed out that Republicans said much about God and guns but nothing about the issues which face the working class. This response is smart. Palin can field-dress a moose. Fine, but what are she and McCain going to do to lower gas prices, expand access to health care, create jobs for the middle class?

We have heard from the Republicans for months that Obama is naught but a carefully contrived spectacle, devoid of substance. He has been derided as a celebrity and accused of relying on identity politics. All of these memes have been irrevocably undermined by McCain's choice of running mate. The only requirement imposed on the vice president by the Constitution is that he or she must be fit to assume the Presidency; it is for this duty that Republicans have endorsed Palin. It's laughable for them to continue to disparage Obama's thin resume.

So many of the issues raised by McCain and his surrogates regarding Obama's fitness to take up the staggering responsibility of the presidency apply equally to Palin. How can it be said that he is too green to serve as commander-in-chief, but she is not? The pinnacle of Palin's executive experience is the governorship of a state no larger than the Harrisburg metropolitan area. Has her short time in that post prepared her to manage the vast executive departments of the federal government? If Democrats are wrong to treat their candidate like a celebrity, should Republicans refer to Palin as a "rock star"?

On the day that McCain introduced her to the nation, Palin parroted Sen. Hillary Clinton's remark about the 18 million cracks the senator's supporters had made in the glass ceiling that is the American presidency. Attaching a female to the bottom of the ticket in hopes that women will vote their gender is as sexist as any remark made by Democrats about Palin neglecting her children to run for office. It is obvious that the Republicans think women voters are stupid and that they condone identity voting when it is to their benefit.

The forfeiture of so many prominent talking points is the price McCain has paid to energize the Republican base. The Religious Right and social conservatives adore the governor and don't care much about the contradictions her presence forces on the campaign.