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The same guy has visited Poe's grave every year for over 50 years? Not bleeding likely. -- Tysto 03:15, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
Having found this from another webiste(Neil gaiman's blog) I am intrigued - having re-read the history on Labyrinth13 and other sites, I'm reminded of a book called The Ultimate Quest - anyone want to share ideas/discussion? Crescent 11:38, 22 January 2006 (UTC)
Has anyone checked the "An essay on the history of the Poe Toaster" external link at the bottom of the page lately? Using Firefox (if that matters), it redirected to a profanity-filled criticism on miserableprick.com. Feel free to delete this when someone more knowledgeable than me fixes the link. -- 206.174.156.129 04:51, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
I would like to draw everyone's attention to this particular notice left by the illustrious Poe Toaster: "The sacred memory of Poe and his final resting place is no place for French cognac. With great reluctance but for respect for family tradition the cognac is placed. The memory of Poe shall live evermore!" Family tradition? Hm. If the original Poe Toaster incarnation has indeed fallen victim to the forces oft associated with old Edgar, then perhaps this young fellow is his son. I am so inclined as to agree with a former comment made against the romantic nature of this greenhorn, and emphatically doubt that Poe would care for such mundane happenings as sporting events. ~T
Added detail from CNN story on 2007 toast regarding son and note with link, but not sure how to properly call references section, maybe somebody can clean up. Link is in tag source. Am surprised at those who scoff at the possibility one person could do this for 58 years; no imagination or sense of literary power on the reader, but suit yourself. 69.145.82.2 03:05, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
A picture would be helpful. I did a simple Google search, but nothing turned up. It's hard to believe that for 50 years no one has taken a picture of this person. Zendik 00:55, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
This is apparently a picture of the Poe Toaster taken in 1990 http://www.prairieghosts.com/cognac.jpg. --unsigned, from IP address 81.76.34.239
Seems tomorrow is the anniversary again. I can't make the trip up this year so, Saturday morning when all the news has gotten in, can someone post what went down? - The Alpha Couple
All references give January 19 as Poe's birthday, however, the gravestone says October 9, 1849 to November 17, 1875. This needs to be addressed.
Famosa (
talk) 17:44, 15 January 2011 (UTC)famosa
Does anyone know with certainty which of Poe's graves the Toaster visits? Is it the original marker or the large 1875 memorial? Once that's solved, we can get an image of that on here. Midnightdreary 18:02, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
It seems like the 2004 paragraph was just lifted from http://labyrinth13.com/Poe_Toaster.htm
It clearly says on the top of the page: "First publishing, September 2001. © All rights reserved. This article now appears as Chapter 5, The Tale of the Poe Toaster, in the book Labyrinth13. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express, written permission of the author (permission to link to this article on the world wide web is hereby granted)."
Did we get permission to use an excerpt?
Mattwolf7 20:39, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
Hmmm... http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2007-08-15-poe-fan_N.htm?csp=34 ~CS 15:12, 18 August 2007 (UTC)
The tradition of using red xxx's to mark one's grave, toasting of spirits, and the use of Cognac (a traditionally French alcohol) may originate from the Voodoo practice of honoring famous priestess Marie Laveau.
This could be someone who honestly believes in the practice attempting to do several things: hoax, media sensation, voodoo, or some other form of spirit calling to assist with someone's writing, or just honor the spirit with spirits! "Spirits" in voodoo practices generally crave blood, alcohol, tobacco, and any other vices that once tied them to being human.
Either way, I'm glad someone honors him. Kendra\ TALK! 03:05, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
I was there personally, there was quite a crowd, but I checked with other people there, and they agree that it was closer to 130, not 150, and that number rapidly decreased the further we got away from midnight. Still quite an impressive number. In the future reporters may want to either actually attend the event, or perhaps talk to someone besides Mr. Jerome, who has a definite motivated interest in keeping this tradition alive.
Also, a gentleman who wandered away from the crowd was mugged early in the morning, so if you go in the future, make sure you stay near the crowd and the police, and dress warm. -- 68.49.122.194 ( talk) 03:34, 20 January 2008 (UTC)
The news link for the 2008 visit was a dead link. Replaced with a live one and edited metadata. Abpillai ( talk) 07:55, 20 May 2008 (UTC)
These two sentences: "In 1967, Porpora says, he told a reporter that the tradition dated back to 1949, though the article to which he refers actually was printed in 1976.[3] Jeff Jerome, of the Edgar Allan Poe Society, however, says the earliest newspaper article about the Poe Toaster dates back to 1950, predating Porpora's claims" If Porpora claimed that the tradition dates back to 1949 and Mr. Jerome says that the first article published about the Toaster dates back to 1950, where's the problem here? Nothing 'predates' Porpora's claims, as the newspaper article only proves that in 1950 the traditison had [i]already[/i] existed and not that it was actually started that year. Or alternativey, if what the editor who wrote these lines meant was that the 1950 article predates the 1976 article, what does that prove? The 1950 article is the first documentation of the Toaster, and the 1976 article is about someone claiming to be that Toaster. I believe these two sentences need rewriting. Or maybe it's just that the dates are wrong. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.0.23.23 ( talk) 10:12, 23 July 2008 (UTC)
I do not think it is wise to whitewash this event. The Vigil for the Poe Toaster is a great thing, and people should know that it is generally a safe event, but a mugging did happen in 2008, to a participant.
Perhaps the organizers, or at least the "old hands" should let participants know that it is going to be a long, cold night, that people may want to walk around the block to warm themselves up, and that the restrooms in the hospital can be used instead of an alleyway. If they leave the group, they should do so with friends, and make sure they are aware of their surroundings. Learning from this event is better than getting publicity for the 2009 murder or rape. People MUST take care of each other.
Additionally, people come to wikipedia to learn about the event. Most do not bother reading the discussion page. It is a disservice to remove potential dangers from the main article and pretend that somehow the event is held in an alternate Baltimore where crime does not exist. It is also wise to point out that there is police protection tasked for the event, so people are safe if they stay with the group, however, people tend to wander off alone during the night, which is the risk. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.169.199.7 ( talk) 01:52, 18 October 2008 (UTC)
I just happened to come upon this little dispute. I fully agree with Midnightdreary. Even if there were reliable sources about this mugging, I'm not convinced it'd be worth including. Shall we include every time a police blotter reports a mugging after a game at Camden Yards? That a mugging happened is completely incidental to the subject of the article. Even if there are reliable sources about the mugging, do they demonstrate that the mugging is related to the Poe Toaster? -- JayHenry ( talk) 01:25, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
Another uninvolved opinion here. (Saw this at MEDCAB, though I think RFC is probably the more appropriate place at this stage of the dispute). I feel that the mugging is pretty much irrelevant to the article. He wandered away from the group and was mugged in the middle of the night in downtown Baltimore. If a mugger had tried to rob people while still in the main group, that might be more relevant, but even then as an aside. However, I do feel that the count of the spectators is relevant to the article. The Toaster and his visit is an internationally known event, and the count of spectators, to me, serves as a kind of reinforcement of this as more than a curiosity event. I'd be happy to formulate an RfC if everyone would like. (If not, I still suggest going there before heading to mediation.) Arakunem Talk 14:04, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
There's two separate citations for the same article -- http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-poe-toaster0119,0,2325798.story. One's footnote #1, the other's footnote #12. Please fix. Kthanx. -- MicahBrwn ( talk) 01:17, 20 January 2010 (UTC)
Im not sure the dictionary can be used to indicate a link between "Poe Toaster" and "poetaster". Other than being remarkably similar in spelling, there is no real connection. Poe Toaster doesn't even sound like poetaster (which is properly pronouned like "poet-ass-ter"). Unless there is some real source other than the dictionary we can use, I think that reference should be removed. Vyselink ( talk) 22:36, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
DoctorJoeE has tried to changed the "Recent Events" section to read "The (apparent) last years" a couple of times now. I have several problems with that. A) It is guessing, as for all we know it may start again next year. B) It is highly unencyclopedic. I have several sets of encyclopedias going back a hundred years, and not ONE of them has a subheading that is even close to "(apparent) last years" or something similarly inane. Recent Events is the correct way to head the section, as until it is proven that the tradition is over (when the name could be changed to "The last years"), they are recent events.
As for this sentence "The tradition is said to have begun a century after Poe's death (under mysterious circumstances) in 1849...", I believe that it is incorrect, as the subject is the tradition, NOT Poe's Death, which began in 1949. The way it is worded above makes it sound as if the tradition began in 1849 which was a century after Poe's death, which is obviously incorrect. It should read "The tradition is said to have begun in 1949, a century after Poe's death (under mysterious circumstances)...". That sentence gives you the date of when the tradition started (which is the subject of this article). Vyselink ( talk) 00:04, 30 January 2011 (UTC)
Bicentennial of what? — Tamfang ( talk) 09:18, 14 March 2011 (UTC)
This is nature's way of telling the world that I haven't been getting enough sleep. — Tamfang ( talk) 18:08, 14 March 2011 (UTC)
Jeff Jerome's introduction is a little choppy. he's introduced as "of the edgar allan poe society" and then a paragraph later is called "curator", without an explicit connection between the two. i'd say get your descriptions of jerome over with in the first sentence and then stick just to his relevancy thereafter. — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
64.20.23.219 (
talk) 05:38, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
Their seems to be some pretty big inconsistencies in this article. This Toaster is claimed to show up at the same place (in the middle of a open cemetery) every year, and it is claimed that crowds gather to watch this event, but it is further claimed irregardless of the fact that this person must stand in plain sight (right in the middle of a crowd watching for him) that he is hardly seen by anyone. And furthermore, it is claimed that Jerome is the only one who is familiar with the details of his ritual, irregardless of the large following he apparently has (who come out and stand around the grave all night, but somehow miss his appearance and ritual at said grave). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wisnoskij ( talk • contribs) 03:36, 1 November 2015 (UTC)
I have done significant research on the Poe Toaster and have discovered several inconsistencies in the story that is presented here. I made a YouTube video summarizing my findings, but I am not entirely sure how much of the article should be changed. Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUAl0w1Ka_g all of my sources are provided in a document in the video description. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bingeworthy00 ( talk • contribs) 21:38, 29 September 2023 (UTC)
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This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page. |
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The same guy has visited Poe's grave every year for over 50 years? Not bleeding likely. -- Tysto 03:15, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
Having found this from another webiste(Neil gaiman's blog) I am intrigued - having re-read the history on Labyrinth13 and other sites, I'm reminded of a book called The Ultimate Quest - anyone want to share ideas/discussion? Crescent 11:38, 22 January 2006 (UTC)
Has anyone checked the "An essay on the history of the Poe Toaster" external link at the bottom of the page lately? Using Firefox (if that matters), it redirected to a profanity-filled criticism on miserableprick.com. Feel free to delete this when someone more knowledgeable than me fixes the link. -- 206.174.156.129 04:51, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
I would like to draw everyone's attention to this particular notice left by the illustrious Poe Toaster: "The sacred memory of Poe and his final resting place is no place for French cognac. With great reluctance but for respect for family tradition the cognac is placed. The memory of Poe shall live evermore!" Family tradition? Hm. If the original Poe Toaster incarnation has indeed fallen victim to the forces oft associated with old Edgar, then perhaps this young fellow is his son. I am so inclined as to agree with a former comment made against the romantic nature of this greenhorn, and emphatically doubt that Poe would care for such mundane happenings as sporting events. ~T
Added detail from CNN story on 2007 toast regarding son and note with link, but not sure how to properly call references section, maybe somebody can clean up. Link is in tag source. Am surprised at those who scoff at the possibility one person could do this for 58 years; no imagination or sense of literary power on the reader, but suit yourself. 69.145.82.2 03:05, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
A picture would be helpful. I did a simple Google search, but nothing turned up. It's hard to believe that for 50 years no one has taken a picture of this person. Zendik 00:55, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
This is apparently a picture of the Poe Toaster taken in 1990 http://www.prairieghosts.com/cognac.jpg. --unsigned, from IP address 81.76.34.239
Seems tomorrow is the anniversary again. I can't make the trip up this year so, Saturday morning when all the news has gotten in, can someone post what went down? - The Alpha Couple
All references give January 19 as Poe's birthday, however, the gravestone says October 9, 1849 to November 17, 1875. This needs to be addressed.
Famosa (
talk) 17:44, 15 January 2011 (UTC)famosa
Does anyone know with certainty which of Poe's graves the Toaster visits? Is it the original marker or the large 1875 memorial? Once that's solved, we can get an image of that on here. Midnightdreary 18:02, 16 March 2007 (UTC)
It seems like the 2004 paragraph was just lifted from http://labyrinth13.com/Poe_Toaster.htm
It clearly says on the top of the page: "First publishing, September 2001. © All rights reserved. This article now appears as Chapter 5, The Tale of the Poe Toaster, in the book Labyrinth13. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express, written permission of the author (permission to link to this article on the world wide web is hereby granted)."
Did we get permission to use an excerpt?
Mattwolf7 20:39, 16 August 2007 (UTC)
Hmmm... http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2007-08-15-poe-fan_N.htm?csp=34 ~CS 15:12, 18 August 2007 (UTC)
The tradition of using red xxx's to mark one's grave, toasting of spirits, and the use of Cognac (a traditionally French alcohol) may originate from the Voodoo practice of honoring famous priestess Marie Laveau.
This could be someone who honestly believes in the practice attempting to do several things: hoax, media sensation, voodoo, or some other form of spirit calling to assist with someone's writing, or just honor the spirit with spirits! "Spirits" in voodoo practices generally crave blood, alcohol, tobacco, and any other vices that once tied them to being human.
Either way, I'm glad someone honors him. Kendra\ TALK! 03:05, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
I was there personally, there was quite a crowd, but I checked with other people there, and they agree that it was closer to 130, not 150, and that number rapidly decreased the further we got away from midnight. Still quite an impressive number. In the future reporters may want to either actually attend the event, or perhaps talk to someone besides Mr. Jerome, who has a definite motivated interest in keeping this tradition alive.
Also, a gentleman who wandered away from the crowd was mugged early in the morning, so if you go in the future, make sure you stay near the crowd and the police, and dress warm. -- 68.49.122.194 ( talk) 03:34, 20 January 2008 (UTC)
The news link for the 2008 visit was a dead link. Replaced with a live one and edited metadata. Abpillai ( talk) 07:55, 20 May 2008 (UTC)
These two sentences: "In 1967, Porpora says, he told a reporter that the tradition dated back to 1949, though the article to which he refers actually was printed in 1976.[3] Jeff Jerome, of the Edgar Allan Poe Society, however, says the earliest newspaper article about the Poe Toaster dates back to 1950, predating Porpora's claims" If Porpora claimed that the tradition dates back to 1949 and Mr. Jerome says that the first article published about the Toaster dates back to 1950, where's the problem here? Nothing 'predates' Porpora's claims, as the newspaper article only proves that in 1950 the traditison had [i]already[/i] existed and not that it was actually started that year. Or alternativey, if what the editor who wrote these lines meant was that the 1950 article predates the 1976 article, what does that prove? The 1950 article is the first documentation of the Toaster, and the 1976 article is about someone claiming to be that Toaster. I believe these two sentences need rewriting. Or maybe it's just that the dates are wrong. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.0.23.23 ( talk) 10:12, 23 July 2008 (UTC)
I do not think it is wise to whitewash this event. The Vigil for the Poe Toaster is a great thing, and people should know that it is generally a safe event, but a mugging did happen in 2008, to a participant.
Perhaps the organizers, or at least the "old hands" should let participants know that it is going to be a long, cold night, that people may want to walk around the block to warm themselves up, and that the restrooms in the hospital can be used instead of an alleyway. If they leave the group, they should do so with friends, and make sure they are aware of their surroundings. Learning from this event is better than getting publicity for the 2009 murder or rape. People MUST take care of each other.
Additionally, people come to wikipedia to learn about the event. Most do not bother reading the discussion page. It is a disservice to remove potential dangers from the main article and pretend that somehow the event is held in an alternate Baltimore where crime does not exist. It is also wise to point out that there is police protection tasked for the event, so people are safe if they stay with the group, however, people tend to wander off alone during the night, which is the risk. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.169.199.7 ( talk) 01:52, 18 October 2008 (UTC)
I just happened to come upon this little dispute. I fully agree with Midnightdreary. Even if there were reliable sources about this mugging, I'm not convinced it'd be worth including. Shall we include every time a police blotter reports a mugging after a game at Camden Yards? That a mugging happened is completely incidental to the subject of the article. Even if there are reliable sources about the mugging, do they demonstrate that the mugging is related to the Poe Toaster? -- JayHenry ( talk) 01:25, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
Another uninvolved opinion here. (Saw this at MEDCAB, though I think RFC is probably the more appropriate place at this stage of the dispute). I feel that the mugging is pretty much irrelevant to the article. He wandered away from the group and was mugged in the middle of the night in downtown Baltimore. If a mugger had tried to rob people while still in the main group, that might be more relevant, but even then as an aside. However, I do feel that the count of the spectators is relevant to the article. The Toaster and his visit is an internationally known event, and the count of spectators, to me, serves as a kind of reinforcement of this as more than a curiosity event. I'd be happy to formulate an RfC if everyone would like. (If not, I still suggest going there before heading to mediation.) Arakunem Talk 14:04, 22 October 2008 (UTC)
There's two separate citations for the same article -- http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-poe-toaster0119,0,2325798.story. One's footnote #1, the other's footnote #12. Please fix. Kthanx. -- MicahBrwn ( talk) 01:17, 20 January 2010 (UTC)
Im not sure the dictionary can be used to indicate a link between "Poe Toaster" and "poetaster". Other than being remarkably similar in spelling, there is no real connection. Poe Toaster doesn't even sound like poetaster (which is properly pronouned like "poet-ass-ter"). Unless there is some real source other than the dictionary we can use, I think that reference should be removed. Vyselink ( talk) 22:36, 19 January 2011 (UTC)
DoctorJoeE has tried to changed the "Recent Events" section to read "The (apparent) last years" a couple of times now. I have several problems with that. A) It is guessing, as for all we know it may start again next year. B) It is highly unencyclopedic. I have several sets of encyclopedias going back a hundred years, and not ONE of them has a subheading that is even close to "(apparent) last years" or something similarly inane. Recent Events is the correct way to head the section, as until it is proven that the tradition is over (when the name could be changed to "The last years"), they are recent events.
As for this sentence "The tradition is said to have begun a century after Poe's death (under mysterious circumstances) in 1849...", I believe that it is incorrect, as the subject is the tradition, NOT Poe's Death, which began in 1949. The way it is worded above makes it sound as if the tradition began in 1849 which was a century after Poe's death, which is obviously incorrect. It should read "The tradition is said to have begun in 1949, a century after Poe's death (under mysterious circumstances)...". That sentence gives you the date of when the tradition started (which is the subject of this article). Vyselink ( talk) 00:04, 30 January 2011 (UTC)
Bicentennial of what? — Tamfang ( talk) 09:18, 14 March 2011 (UTC)
This is nature's way of telling the world that I haven't been getting enough sleep. — Tamfang ( talk) 18:08, 14 March 2011 (UTC)
Jeff Jerome's introduction is a little choppy. he's introduced as "of the edgar allan poe society" and then a paragraph later is called "curator", without an explicit connection between the two. i'd say get your descriptions of jerome over with in the first sentence and then stick just to his relevancy thereafter. — Preceding
unsigned comment added by
64.20.23.219 (
talk) 05:38, 9 August 2012 (UTC)
Their seems to be some pretty big inconsistencies in this article. This Toaster is claimed to show up at the same place (in the middle of a open cemetery) every year, and it is claimed that crowds gather to watch this event, but it is further claimed irregardless of the fact that this person must stand in plain sight (right in the middle of a crowd watching for him) that he is hardly seen by anyone. And furthermore, it is claimed that Jerome is the only one who is familiar with the details of his ritual, irregardless of the large following he apparently has (who come out and stand around the grave all night, but somehow miss his appearance and ritual at said grave). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wisnoskij ( talk • contribs) 03:36, 1 November 2015 (UTC)
I have done significant research on the Poe Toaster and have discovered several inconsistencies in the story that is presented here. I made a YouTube video summarizing my findings, but I am not entirely sure how much of the article should be changed. Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUAl0w1Ka_g all of my sources are provided in a document in the video description. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bingeworthy00 ( talk • contribs) 21:38, 29 September 2023 (UTC)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 3 external links on Poe Toaster. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
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