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Poe's Scottish Connections
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Searching For Poe In Scotland
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Ladies of the Dundonald Historical Society graciously posed with me after my presentation of "Poe's Dundonald Connections," about September 2000. From the Parish Kirk and the castle above, each can be seen by the other. There can be no question that a brillaint, spritely six-year-old would not have compelled one of his many cousins or adults in his family to run with him up the hill from the kirk to the castle, and have a look around. This first of all strongholds of the Stewart dynesty of Scotland is little more than the rubble today, but without renovations sponsored by the government of Scotland.
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I presented a paper on, "Edgar Allan Poe's Scottish Connections" at the International Conference on Arts & Humanities, 11 July 2006. Sponsored by The University of Hawaii-Manoa (Honolulu), East West Council for Education, Asia Pacifi Research Institute of Peking University, and the University of Louisville - Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods. 1,400 Professors in these disciplines presented papers. From that Conference are seen four other presenters, all from Japanese Universities. Please see the conference website: www.hichumanities.org/program_artshumanities.htm
Lecturing and speaking on Edgar Allan Poe have also occurred as follows:
“The Pilgrim, The Raven, and The Leviathan,” Burbank Senior High School, Sacramento, California, 1997. A talk comparing and contrasting the fiction of Nathaniel Hawthorn, Edgar Allan Poe, and Herman Melville.
"The Poes of Ayrshire, Scotland," Scottish Weekend,
The Family Tree Magazine, Edom Payne Genealogical Library, Moutrie, Georgia, Fall 1999.
“Edgar Allan Poe’s Connections with Saltcoats,” Saltcoats-Ardrossan Historical Society and Friends of the Museum. 1999. Friends and Members of the Local Historical Society were introduced to the new exhibit of the David Poe-Anne Allan, and family, headstone found by Brill in the cemetery, now on permanent display at the Saltcoats Museum of North Ayrshire.
“Edgar Allan Poe’s Dundonald Connections,” Dundonald Historical Society, Dundonald Castle, Ayrshire, Scotland, 2003. While in Ayrshire, for the Annual Conference of the Robert Burns World Federation, Ltd., this informal talk was given on the invitation of the Administrator of Dundonald Castle. Dundonald is the point of origin of the Allan-Burns-Galt-Poe connection, circa 1750. This is the site of the John Galt gift of a Holy Communion pewter set to the Parish Kirk, on the occasion of the 1815 visit of his nephew and family’s visit to Ayrshire, that included his “son,” Edgar Allan Poe.
Edgar Allan Poe’s Kilmarnock Connections,” Kilmarnock Historical Society, Ayrshire, Scotland, 2004. Again, while in Ayrshire for the Burns Annual Conference, and upon the invitation of the Society’s President, a lecture on Poe’s connections to this city. It is the site of the home of Poe’s aunt and uncle, through John Allan. At my solicitation, the Society have commissioned and installed a plaque in honor of Poe’s connections to the house in which Allan’s family, the Fowlds lived.
“The Poetry of Robert Burns and his cousin, Edgar Allan Poe,” Brewer Island Elementary School, Foster City, California, 2004. An introduction to the poetry of the Scots’ Bard, and his distant cousin, the American poet, through a love poem from each.
The 5th Symbiosis Biennial Conference, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, beginning June 29 2005. Subject: "Edgar Allan Poe's Rejection of The Church of Scotland's Calvinism." In association with STAR (Scotland's Transatlantic Relations Project), University of Edinburgh.
The 16th Annual Conference of the Ulster-American Heritage Symposium, hosted by the East Tennessee Historical Society, in Knoxville, Tennessee, has heard Brill's paper, "Edgar Allan Poe's Ulster-Scots Connections," in June 2006. Conference and other details are available at their website A brief statement of that presentation will be written in August 2006. It was, however, by all accounts, extremely well received by attendees. On 19 January 2007 I presented "The Immortal Memory" for The Caledonain Club of San Francisoc's Annual Burns Supper. I have often been incorrectly introduced at academic and literay conferences as a "Burns Scholar." In fact, I cannot memorize any poet's works, and have but a limtited knolwedge of Burns' poems and songs. Nevertheless, given my long membership in the Robert Burns World Federation, Ltd., and recent visit of Burns sites in Dumfires, on the Borders of Scotland, the First Chieftain of the Club asked me to perform the "Immortal Meomroy" for the Burns Supper. I spoke on, "The Three Divisions of Burns' Genius," although there are more. My focus and point of view were as an American, in the English Literature Survey Course, as an English Major.
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In the photograph above, staff and students of the Aristotle Univesity's 5th Symbiosos Conference, as well as a few of the participants are present. More information will be posted soon.
Scholarly organizational memberships:
Museum of Scotland, Steward Member;
Robert Burns World Federation, Ltd.(Individual Member);
Poe Studies Association, (Independent Scholar);
Poe Studies, Dark Romanticism: History, Theory, Interpretation (Independent Scholar);
Association for Scottish Literary Studies,(Independent Scholar);
Modern Language Association (MLA), (Independent Scholar (PSA));
Edgar Allan Poe Society, Richmond, Virginia;
The STAR Project, (Independent Scholar);
Friedrich Nietzsche Society, (Independent Scholar (of E. A. Poe)).
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On 19 January 2007 I presented "The Immortal Memory" for The Caledonian Club of San Francisco's Annual Burns Supper. I have often been incorrectly introduced at academic and literary conferences as a "Burns Scholar." In fact, I cannot memorize any poet's works, and have but a limited knowledge of Burns' poems and songs. Nevertheless, given my long membership in the Robert Burns World Federation, Ltd., and recent visit of Burns sites in Dumfires, on the Borders of Scotland, the First Chieftain of the Club asked me to perform the "Immortal Memory" for the Burns Supper. I spoke on, "The Three Divisions of Burns' Genius," although there are more. My focus and point of view were as an American, in the English Literature Survey Course, as an English Major.
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Seen in the photo of the opening presentations of the conference are two Ph. D. Candidates in English who were assigned to translate for the two Professors of English from America. Everyone else spoke Georgian, but the scholar to my immediate right, who was having the talks translated into Russian by the graduate student behind us.
Also seen are the luminaries of the Georgian Technical University, as well as the Georgia Minister of Education, and others in academic leadership from Russian, and other former Russian block countries.
Comments from the head table mostly were regarding the poor conference attendance that was a consequence of the Russian invasion. The entire opening ceremonies and comments of attendees were in either Georgian or Russian language. Both Professor Nancy Gish, of Southern Maine University, and Brill, an Independent Scholar of Edgar Allan Poe, were at serious disadvantage during the conference because of the languages used, even with the competent translation of our two graduate students.
At the closing supper, held in a huge restaurant built in the Fifth Century monastic style, there was such a humbling array of scientists, scholars, and other Ph. D.s from the former Russian Federation, all of whom spoke little or no English. All around me were physicists and mathematicians, who graciously smiled or uttered this or that expression in the very thickest English.
As with the food in Greece, Georgian food is flavorful and fresh beyond anything obtainable in America. Noteworthy is their constant consumption of their varieties of breads and meats, cheeses, and so on. Ms. Kenmotsu and I eat little, and rarely, and simply were not hungry after a few mouthfuls of the earliest courses! They brought in gallons and gallons of wine made at home by my table mate, one of 200 former staff physicists at the university. As a Californian, educated at the best known wine-making school in America, University of California-Davis, I simply could not tolerate the wine offering, and suffered a Russian-style evening-long meal in a large hall meant to encourage our delay with leaving. Throughout the evening I had fantasies of a three dollar bottle of Napa Valley Forestville Merlot.
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In the photograph taken by Ms. Kenmotsu, Bob Brill and Georgian Technical University conference hostess, Professor Tamar Mebuket, Department of English, are standing inside the walls of the church. The Republic of Georgia flags present their pride for all to see in the strong wind. We had made our acquaintance during the 5th Symbiosis Conference in Greece. We have maintained a correspondence since, and when her university decided in October 2007 to have a similar conference, I was invited to submit a paper for presentation.
Both before the start of the conference, as well as afterwards, Professor Mebuket, Ph. D. Candidate Nino Janjgava, and about 10 of the Department's undergraduates took us on daily excursions of their city and country side. By this time the Russian Army had withdrawn to the northern provinces, and were not visible to us. The American Embassy had been notified of our arrival, and we were registered with the Ambassader's staff, should any encounters occur that challanged our safety.
In the photo above, Professor Mebuket is showing us around the 5th century church, somewhat at the foot of a monastery of the same period, built on the high mountain across the river. The history of Georgia, like that of Scotland, is pockmarked with tragedy and war. This ancient country, formally a trading partner with the Greece of the Hellenic Period, has only recently extricated itself from the bondage of the former USSR. The present war is an indication of the heavy hand of Russian determination to get its former land back. Embarrassement of the present war caused most of the scholars from Russia not to attend the conference. Those Russians who did attend were extremely pleased to meet the few scholars from America, and were memorable for their dignity and humility.
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Some of the 13 students in the Department of English Language, of the Georgian Technical University, who were assigned to the author and Ms. Kenmotsu to act as city guides, translators, and assistants during our stay.
Seen in this photo are Dennis, Ann, Nino, Diana, Getta, Bob Brill, and Grace Kenmotsu. Other photos and information will be posted soon.
After my paper, "Edgar Allan Poe: God of Words," I left copies of Poe's works, Hervey Allen's 1934 edition of Israfel, Foye's The Unknown Poe, and a laminated copy of the two-page article in the Irvine Herold (Ayrshire) newspaper.
This article was sent to us years later by local Irvine historian Billy Stinan, and featured our research visit to Scotland of our discovery of the James Poe and Anne Allan gravesite at the Museum of Saltcoats, North Ayrshire.
If Professors and students in this mostly Georgian-Russian language speaking country knew Poe, they were confused, but enthralled, by Poe's works. Dennis, in the photo above, taken by fellow student, Henrietta, in front of the Georgian House of Parliement, was intimate with Poe's "The Raven," in Russian, and knew all of the essential meanings of the hieroglyphic level of this poe
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Seen in this photo by Kenmotsu, Ph. D. Candidate Nino Janjgava, our primary translator, was asked to read one of the papers presented by one of the many who elected not to attend the conference because of the Russian invasion. Mrs. Janjgava receives her Doctorate on 17 November 2008.
For the same reason, several undergraduate students, seen elsewhere, were assigned the same duties. The difficulty of reading a scholarly paper in English for these native speakers of Russian and Georgian proved to be very unpleasant. Nevertheless, they showed high levels of courage, professionalism, and academic maturity with their readings.
We are very humbled with Mrs. Janjgava and her husband, who gave two days of their time and translation with tours of the area between Tbilisi and the Russian Occupation zones. Most spectacular were our visits to the Fifth Century Orthodox Christian Abbey at the top of the mountain just outside the city, and its companion church built at the bottom, on the other side of the river. The cultural and historical lessons learned of that country from just these two sites were worth the price and time of our attending their conference.
Those excursions were an important follow-on to our visit to Northern Greece. My childhood, Protestant, religious lessons, of Saint Paul's evangelical efforts shortly after the death of Jesus Christ were planted, thereafter, did not make these facts clear. These on-site visits give vivid understanding of the origin of Christianity, and the basis of the clash amongst the competing religions today, all of which have the Hebrew God as their deity, but all of whom kill each other in their different interpretations of what is the "truth."
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With copies of magazines about Poe and Burns for the audience's viewing, Brill spoke on the subject of "Edgar Allan Poe: God of Words." These conferences in Honolulu, sponsored by the University of Hawaii, and a guest univestiy sponsor, are very relaxed, in contrast to the MLA conference in San Francisco the previous month, December 2008.
On this occassion, I made the acquaintence of all of the professors from the several universities in Bangkok, Thailand, with the intention of having such a conference presented in Thailand, where we maintain a home. I was not successful in this effort. Nevertheless, each professor, Dean, or university administrator represented asked Ms. Kenmotsu and me to visit their campuses for a follow-on opportunity to teach American-English to their students. This we did during our February visit.
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After I had made all of the trips to Great Britain for our research, I began offering local history groups a verbal presentation of some of the facts that we had acquired from their areas. One of the first to accept was the Kilmarnock Historical Society. I had asked Mr. Frank Beattie, a well known journalist in Ayrshire, to act as my liaison.
On 10 September 2003, I had carried with me from Hawaii many posters, photographs, flyers, and other viswith aids and exhibits for my talk. In the photo above can be seen some posters that I had obtained from the Edgar Allan Poe Museum and Shrine during our two visits there in 1997 and later. After my talk, I collected these items and placed them in a large carrying case. I lost this case when leaving the motorcoach from Glasgow to London. Were it not for this photo, I would have no memory of what I lost. The poster of Poe to the left of Virginia Poe, as well as that to the right of her were one-of-a-kind purchased at the Poe Museum. The rest were enlargements that I had made and mounted from Hervey Allen's book, Israfel, so can be duplicated. I never have.
The St. Marnock's Parish Church was the venue of this talk. First considered for the organization and erection of the church was in Decmvber of 1833. It was not present at the time of Poe's residency. Unfortuantely, in a disaster that wrecked much of Scotland in 1835, the church roof collapses, and was left unrepaired until 1886, when its present, impressive stone archetecture was refinished. For the talk in Kilmarnock, I made an outline of the significant passages recorded in my manuscript of the book. I had failed to make any notes or outlines for previous talks, and found myself groping and stumbling for words and ideas during those talks.
Therefore, for this talk, not knowing what the audience might know or not of American literature and Poe, I gave an overview of the Romantic Period, how and why we even were in Scotland to find some evidence of Poe having been there, and so on. Then I presented words found in Poe's works, but no where else of which I had knowledge of geography and place-names. Finally, the actual cultural and family connections of Scotland to America that I had never-before known.
Every member of the audience were either an active or retired school headmaster, or administrator. Everyone had at least one graduate degree. All knew more of Poe than I did, and certainly knew everything about each and every fact of their culture and country that I had only newly learned. Some were members of Burns Clubs. One was our friend, James Gibson, the Past President of the Robert Burns World Federation, Ltd., and other local worthies I should have been too humble to address, had I known of their achievements before my talk.
This wonderful assembly of local educators gave me almost two hours with which to adequately state my material, and to answer questions. Some of this group are still in communication with me after all of these years. They were largely responsible for the later erection of the Poe Plaque placed on the building that was the former home of John Allan's sister and brother in-law, the Allan and Mary Foulds.
Today is the first time since that presentation that I have had an opportunity to review the materials of this visit, to upload the photo and edit these pages, and reflect on this one trip to Scotland, of many that we have made at our own expense in furtherance of this project. Many have lost interest in our project because the book promised has never arrived.
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