• 3 years ago
I wanted to get this up last night before midnight to usher in the New Year, but was knocked out by an attack of narcolepsy.

Although often listed as his final poem, largely because it was published posthumously on October 17, 1849, ten days after his death, "The Bells" was actually written in May 1848. "Annabel Lee" was his final work of poetry, completed a year later in May 1849 and also published posthumously. For Poe, the poem was something new and experimental, and quite arguably well ahead of its time.

I have taken a reading of "The Bells" by LibriVox volunteer Brian Morgan and overlayed it over a track of "Final Toll" ... cathedral bells and organ sounding at the conclusion of a funeral.

The visual material is largely from the film adaptation of Sylvia Plath's novel The Bell Jar (1963), directed by Larry Peerce in 1979. Also included in the video are scenes from

Sylvia (2003) and a short scene intended to be part of a trailer for an imaginary newer version of The Bell Jar.

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