Baltimore's Doomsday Edgar Allan Poe Readathon Is Coming, May 18-19

    BALTIMORE, MD, April 16, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ -- For 24 straight hours from May 18 -19, 2024, The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre will hold Doomsday 2024, the third annual nonstop marathon livestreamed reading of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. This year the celebration will be international, with coordinated events in Brazil, Italy and the UK as well as in Baltimore.

To raise money for Doomsday 2024, and to help fund The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre's award-winning Poe-themed radio dramas, a donation page has been established at https://tinyurl.com/8c7kjt29. Early supporters have already contributed to bring the event to life.

This year's Doomsday event is being held at The Carroll Mansion (800 E Lombard St, Baltimore, MD 21202). Readers who have already committed to read Poe's works during Doomsday 2024 include Maryland State Delegates Luke Clippinger and Mark Edelson; Rachel D. Graham, CEO of The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts; Poe House and Museum Executive Director Enrica Jang; Loyola University's Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead, and many more.

For 2024, the Doomsday Poe celebration has gone international, spreading well beyond Baltimore. Participants from many other nations will be doing their own version of Doomsday this year, including the theatre groups Vigor Mortis in Curitiba, Brazil; Grand Guignol de Milan in Milan, Italy; and Threedumb Theatre in London, England. Each country's livestream will be hosted along with the Baltimore stream from The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre's website and its Givebutter donation page.

Meanwhile, back in Baltimore, the Doomsday 2024 reading will be free to all, including arts and writing activities for all ages, Poe trivia, and open access that weekend to the Poe Death Exhibit, hosted at the Carroll Mansion by Poe Baltimore.

"Poe's legacy as one of the most influential American authors has been embraced globally, and his works are translated into languages spoken around the world," said Poe Theatre Founder and Artistic Director Alex Zavistovich. "It's gratifying to see an idea that started three years ago in my basement in Baltimore City begin to grow into a truly international event."

Edgar Allan Poe worked in Baltimore for three years, during which time he authored some of his more notable stories, including "MS Found in a Bottle," "Berenice" and "Shadow – A Parable." His connection to Baltimore is much stronger than that, however, His wife, Virginia Clemm Poe, was born in Baltimore, and his grandfather, the renowned military leader David Poe, was a co-founder of Baltimore's historic First and Franklin Church. Edgar Allan Poe's body is buried on the grounds of Baltimore's Westminster Hall.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL EDGAR ALLAN POE THEATRE

The National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre is the only company in the world dedicated to adapting the works of America's grandfather of horror and suspense onstage, on the air, and in the classroom. Throughout the pandemic, theatre produced monthly radio drama adaptations of Poe's stories. The award-winning programs are carried on Amazon Music and National Public Radio, among many other platforms. (https://www.poetheatre.org/poe-theatre-on-the-air)

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