Poe-Pourri: Masquerade Ball

As the official kick-off site for The Big Read, historic Sonnenberg Mansion is the perfect place for a masquerade ball to honor Edgar Allan Poe.

On Friday, October 2 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, the lights will dim as dramatic readings of Poe’s major works, including “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” are chillingly delivered to a captivated audience by state officials and other community members.

Students from Canandaigua Academy’s Drama Department will play Poe’s troubled characters including Fortunato, Roderick Usher and Prince Prospero. Poe himself will make an appearance. Guests will be challenged to guess the characters and Poe’s stories or poems. Costumes will be judged and prizes awarded.

Teens and adults are invited to this ticketed, catered event. Tickets can be purchased at Wood Library for $8/person. RSVP by September 30. Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion is located at 151 Charlotte St. in Canandaigua. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.

Poe-Pourri: Where to Start

These sites will get you up-and-running and involved in Wood Library's Edgar Allan Poe Big Read October 1-31, 2009. Find your way around Poe's life and writings; track events as they occur in Canandaigua and other communities and libraries in Ontario County; find Poe books to borrow.



Readers and Teachers Guides

Poe Big Read Events List

Poe-Pourri Display, Ground Floor, Wood Library

Find a copy of Poe's writings to borrow

Subscribe to Poe-Pourri by clicking the orange subscribe button in the upper left corner. We'll deliver Poe-Pourri to you.

Got Facebook? Become a Fan of the library and the Poe-Pourri will be posted there.

Poe-Pourri Promotes "Big Read"

There are more than 20 events in this October's Big Read, celebrating the life and writings of Edgar Allan Poe. You can keep current with Wood Library's October 2009 "Big Read" by visiting Wood Library Now! at http://woodlibraryhome.blogspot.com/. Throughout the month "Poe-Pourri" will feature something new about Edgar Allan Poe, his stories and poems, or a Big Read event. Even better, you can have the blog posts delivered automatically to your email or reader by clicking the RSS subscribe button. Prefer Facebook? Poe-Pourri will feed into the Wood Library Fan Page. Become a fan by clicking the Facebook button at www.woodlibrary.org. Poe-Pourri will start in mid- September. It is just one of many ways Wood Library will be encouraging the community to get together and read Poe's classic works. For more information, call or email Adult Services Librarian, Barbara Henry at 585-394-1381 or bhenry@pls-net.org.