Student-designed exhibits interpret Poe's work in Reed Library and throughout the county

During this year's Big Read, students have been inspired to create works in various media that interpret Edgar Allan Poe's writings. On exhibit in Reed Library, the Buster Brown Bean Company Cafe and Bistro, and the James Prendergast Library, the creations Include costumes designed by theatre students, a creative writing project, animation film storyboards, photography, and more.

Photo by Steven Yunghans/EPS Media

"Costume Designs”
Location: Registrar's Office curved wall
By: Amanda Moore, Josh Porter, Anna Slocum, Danielle Waterman, and Amra Cuelova

Students from Prof. Dixon Reynolds’s Costume Design II class have created a series of costuming designs based upon their interpretation of several of Poe’s works, including “The Fall of the House of Usher”, “The Purloined Letter”, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and “Ligeia” These will be on display throughout the month of October.

Photo by Steven Yunghans/EPS Media

"Poe and the Exquisite Corpse"
Location: Friends of Reed Library Room.
Organized by: Scott Richmond, Librarian

Come and make your create mark -- contribute your creative talents to this fun, community creative writing project. Students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to contribute a line or two in the writing of a community poem. Ongoing through the month of October.

"The Raven"
Location: Friends of Reed Library Room and Buster Brown Bean Company Cafe and Bistro, 33 Church St., Fredonia.
By: Andrew Carter, Stephanie Casella, Matt Corrigan, Taylor Hultquist, Hyo Jin (Erica) Kang, Brittany Morelli, Sarah Peck, Ariana Tressel-Orner, Lindsey Alfred, Jessica Winner, Zakiyah Woodson

Students from Prof. Jill Johnston's Intro to 2D Animation created a two-minute black and white line drawn animation based on Poe's poem "The Raven". Each student's section contains approximately 120 drawings (eight seconds of screen time) and repeats as an endless cycle. Media used were paper, pencils, pens, brushes, ink washes, created on individual light tables and scanned into the computer for final output.

"Valley of Unrest"
Location: Buster Brown Bean Company Cafe and Bistro, 33 Church St., Fredonia.
By: Zack Joseph and Kristen J Sherwood.
When: Oct. 14 and 15, 7 to 11 p.m.

Created by students in Prof. Ellen Litwicki's History 338: 19th Century American Culture class, the exhibit will show the practices of mourning and burial, as well as the attitudes people had toward death and the afterlife in the 19th century, making connections to Poe's work, "Valley of Unrest," as an expression of attitudes toward death and dying during this era. The exhibit will be accompanied by a photo album of different graves at the Forest Hill cemetery and a description of each stone in relation to the progression of mourning practices. This exhibit has been developed as a companion piece to The Harvest Moon Cemetary Tours.

"The Black Cat"
Location: Buster Brown Bean Company Cafe and Bistro, 33 Church St., Fredonia.
By: Patrick Condon, Stacey Gawel, Brian Hathaway, William Lauko, Mary Kate Lynch, Christine McMullen, Brittany Morelli, Sarah Peck, Nadiya Romanyuk, Carlos Sanchez, Mayumi Tanoue, Ariana Tressel-Orner, George Wagner

Students from Prof. Jill Johnston's Intermediate Illustration class have created detailed storyboard panel adaptions of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat". Each student created a 12-panel image sequence with black and white media using either analog, digital, or tradigital processes that were printed and mounted on boards. Ongoing through the month of October.

"Edgar Allan Poe's Works and Life Display"
Location: James Prendergast Library, Jamestown, New York 14701
When: Friday, Oct 14 through Saturday, Oct. 29.

During the month of October, the Prendergast Library will have a display of the many books, audiobooks and videos based on Edgar Allan Poe's works and life.