For 61 years, this man, or series of men, has honored Poe, long before anyone thought to name the Baltimore NFL team after his most famous work, or even jokingly — I hope — squabble with Richmond, Va., New York City, Philadelphia and Boston over which city should house his bones.
Many Poe enthusiasts would come from all over the country to witness the quiet, elegant nighttime ceremony in the dead of January, but the Toaster never spoke and never lingered long. In other words, he was the perfect mysterious benefactor, adding to the city’s strange mixture of romantic nostalgia and hard-nosed pragmatism.
The odd little man that was the Poe Toaster failed to show this year.
(via Baltimore Sun)
