Who's most like Poe? The library knows...

CHESTER — Eight local residents submitted entries to “Faux Poe,” an October poetry competition offered by the Chester Public Library. Mary Langton’s “Edgar Allan Poe Goes to Cheers” won in the adult category. Here is an excerpt from Langton’s poem, which ushers the Boston-born 19th-century poet into a late 20th-century sitcom, set in Boston: Above the bar a screen glowed bright, casting light upon the night: Nine men dressed in sox of red, working at a chore obscure Against nine men in blue pinstripes who wielded bats and took their swipes, Till Diane of golden locks galore muttered while she swept the floor And sneered amidst the patrons’ roar: “I hate baseball! What a bore!” Poe loved the sound “or” (e.g., “nevermore” and “Lenore”), and Langton managed to weave formal facets like this into her poem. She mentions or alludes to birds of prey, refrain, ghouls, sherry and other aspects of Poe’s work. Aneece Abdmahmoodi’s “Fallen” won in the youth category (ages 17 and under). In the lines below and elsewhere in her poem, readers can see Abdmahmoodi, age 16, conveying Poe’s dark mood as well as his poetic themes of tragic female demise and human feelings trumping science and death: Let this world burn, have the shadows reveal these dark deeds committed, let these hallowed eyes fill again with light, let this fallen live again for her heart still beats. All entrants to the contest will receive anthologies of Poe’s poetry and prose, reader’s guides, Poe-themed magnets, tote bags and other items funded by The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts. The two winners also will receive $25 Borders certificates, contributed by Friends of the Chester Library.