Edgar Allan Poe portrayed by Larry Bounds
Greenville Tech Barton Campus — Corner of S. Pleasantburg and E. Faris Road, 29607. FREE Outdoor Show — Bring lawn seating. Before the event visit HistoryComesAlive.org for the exact location on the Greenville Tech Barton Campus. Inclement weather plan (extreme heat or rain) — Show will be moved into the Dreisbach/Anderson Student Success Center Auditorium, 506 S. Pleasantburg Drive. You will need to come early to get a seat. First come, first served. Doors will open 45 minutes before show time. Edgar Allan Poe* was a creative and much admired and imitated author of many of America's most remembered poetry and fiction. With the writing of “The Raven,” Poe's talent became recognized nationwide. He toured the states giving literary reviews, poetry demonstrations and even scientific lectures. But his great successes were punctuated by a tortuous personal life, especially after the early death of his wife at the age of 24 following her long struggle with tuberculosis. Poe created the supernatural horror genre that we recognize today in the works of author H.P. Lovecraft and director Alfred Hitchcock.
As the creator of the first detective story, the Mystery Writers of America named their annual awards of excellence “The Edgars” in Poe's honor. Poe was never an ordinary hail-fellow-well-met. He was dark, moody, always looking for love and acceptance and talented beyond his peers. From his childhood to his death, he created wonderfully crafted poetry and memorable tales and now seems to those who study his life and works as if he were himself a character from one of his own stories. Larry Bounds has been a Chautauqua performer since 2002, presenting an assortment of figures including Churchill, Einstein, Houdini and Disney for festivals from Florida to Colorado and Nevada.
This year he is revisiting one of his favorite authors: Edgar Allan Poe, a haunted, literary genius that he taught about in his English classes for decades. In 2019 Larry retired as a nationally certified teacher after 35 years in the classroom. He earned his B.A. in theatre and an M.S. in Education from The University of Tennessee. Larry also still regularly performs as a professional magician as he has since 1973 when he performed for 8 years for Ripley's /Believe It or Not!/ He lives in Greer, South Carolina with his wife Carole, is active in Mensa and serves on several community boards.