WHSAD 10th Graders with Mr. Koestner, Ms. Vargas and Ms. Nelson.
On Wednesday, March 29th, Mr. Koestner’s 10th grade English class went to Edgar Allen Poe’s Cottage in the Bronx. The visit was the culmination of a unit on Edgar Allen Poe, where students read and discussed many of Poe’s short stories in Mr. Koestner’s class. The students were able to discuss and reference the stories they read while they were guided on a tour throughout the property. To learn more about the Edgar Allen Poe Cottage, please click here.
The following is a report on the field trip as written by WHSAD 10th grader, Chamonte Greenfield.
The Poe Cottage
by Chamonte Greenfield
Edgar Allan Poe lived in a small house in Fordham, which is now called the Bronx. The house wasn’t originally in the park that you see now. It was previously moved in the park from across the street, because people wanted to preserve the house. Poe’s house was very small. It contained two floors and five rooms. The ceilings were very low so that the heat can stay low to keep people warm. Poe lived there with his wife, Virginia, who had tuberculosis. Since Poe’s wife had tuberculosis, she wasn’t able to move very much without being in pain. Tuberculosis is a disease that weakens your muscles and makes you cough heavily. At the time, there was no cure for tuberculosis. Poe’s wife would stay on the lower floor where she didn’t have to move much. Upstairs was the main bedroom where Poe would spend most of his time. That is where he wrote his stories.
Poe was an amazing writer. He is the father of mysterious and creepy stories. Other than his stories, not much is known about Poe’s personal life. He was born on January 19, 1809. He married his cousin, who would soon be diagnosed with tuberculosis. Even though Poe was a writer, he was underpaid. Poe would spend his money on alcohol, so he was known as a poor drunk who wrote stories. When Poe’s wife Virginia was 27 years old, she died. Two years later, Poe also died under mysterious circumstances.
