A new TV documentary about iconic author Edgar Allan Poe aims to separate the man from the myth, but its producers must first deal with more pressing matters in the present day. As Halloween grows near, Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive is running out of time to raise the $75,000 it needs to cover post-production costs.
The project, which stars Denis O’Hare as the famed writer, launched a Kickstarter campaign earlier this month with a deadline of October 31 and has already raised more than $63,000. But with four days to go, producers are banking on Poe’s extensive fan base to help them reach their goal.
“We’re constantly amazed at Poe’s ubiquitous presence on the web,” said director Eric Stange in a press release. “His worldwide fan base is extremely wide and includes everyone from goths to steam punks to scholars. We’re hoping plenty of them will step up and help us get this project completed.”
O’Hare is the only actor in the 90-minute doc, which includes dramatized sections in which the performer brings the author to life. It’s also packed with interviews, including some with Poe’s descendants.
Poe aficionados should care about helping Buried Alive make it to broadcast. Though his name is ubiquitous with literary horror, from “The Tell-Tale Heart” to “The Raven,” the man was much more complex than many of his fans are aware. In his lifetime, Poe worked as a literary critic and magazine editor while also writing books of poetry. It was only after his death in 1849, when a rival published an obituary slandering Poe as a drug-addled recluse most at home in the shadows, that his reputation as a man of the macabre was cemented.
The documentary hopes to clear up misconceptions about Poe the man while also honoring the author’s impressive body of work. Should its Kickstarter goal be reached, and enough funds are secured to help the project through post-production, Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive will likely air on PBS’ American Masters sometime next year.
The project’s Kickstarter campaign page can be visited here.
