Showing posts with label Free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Free. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

🐦‍⬛ Quoth the Raven, 'Read Some More'

When I first stumbled upon the museum website for Edgar Allan Poe some time back, I really wasn't expecting much but the more I looked around, the more I was amazed. I have yet to visit & have only bookmarked these resources, but I find satisfaction in empowering others with free information.


Below are lists of Poe's complete collection of short stories & poems! Click on the Poe's Complete Works link & it will take you to the museum site, where you will find links for all them. No download or sign up required. Read them directly in your browser, for as long as you want.


If you're ever in Richmond, Virginia you might consider a visit to The Poe MuseumGo for the literature, enjoy the history, & linger to get a picture with the Poe Museum cats. They even have their own Instagram!  @poemuseumcats


If not, no worries, there's plenty to see & read on their website, including an online store with reasonably priced items. Gifting someone a feather quill pen set, wax seal kit, or Smell of Fear candle will likely get you invited to some cool parties! Enjoy!


I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.” 🐈🐈‍⬛


Poe's Complete Works

Short Stories

  • The Angel of the Odd

  • The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

  • The Assignation (The Visionary)

  • The Balloon Hoax

  • Berenice

  • The Black Cat

  • Bon-Bon (The Bargain Lost)

  • The Cask of Amontillado

  • The Colloquy of Monos and Una

  • The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion (The Destruction of the World)

  • A Decided Loss (Loss of Breath)

  • A Descent into the MaelstrΓΆm

  • The Devil in the Belfry

  • Diddling Considered as One of the Exact Sciences

  • The Domain of Arnheim (The Landscape Garden )

  • The Duc de L’Omelette

  • Eleonora

  • Epimanes (Four Beasts in One) (The Homocameleopard)  

  • The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar

  • The Fall of the House of Usher

  • The Gold-Bug

  • Hans Phaall — A Tale (The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall)

  • Hop-Frog

  • How to Write a Blackwood Article (The Psyche Zenobia)

  • The Imp of the Perverse

  • The Island of the Fay

  • King Pest

  • Landor’s Cottage 

  • Ligeia

  • The Light-House

  • Lionizing

  • The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq

  • The Man of the Crowd

  • The Man that was Used Up

  • The Masque of the Red Death

  • Mellonta Tauta

  • Mesmeric Revelation

  • Metzengerstein

  • Morella

  • Morning on the Wissahiccon (The Elk)  

  • MS. found in a Bottle (Manuscript found in a Bottle)

  • The Murders in the Rue Morgue

  • The Mystery of Marie Roget

  • Mystification (Von Jung)

  • Never Bet the Devil Your Head

  • The Oblong Box

  • The Oval Portrait (Life in Death) 

  • Peter Pendulum, the Business Man

  • The Pit and the Pendulum

  • Politian

  • The Power of Words

  • The Premature Burial

  • The Purloined Letter

  • The Scythe of Time

  • Shadow — A Fable

  • Silence — A Fable (Siope — A Fable)

  • Some Words with a Mummy

  • The Spectacles

  • The Sphinx

  • The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether

  • A Tale of Jerusalem

  • A Tale of the Ragged Mountains

  • The Tell-Tale Heart

  • Thou Art the Man

  • The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade

  • A Succession of Sundays (Three Sundays in a Week)

  • Von Kempelen and His Discovery

  • Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling

  • William Wilson

  • X-ing a Paragrab

Poems 

  • An Acrostic (From an Album)
  • Al Aaraaf
  • Alone (From an Album Alone) (“From childhood’s hour I have not been…“)
  • Annabel Lee
  • Bridal Ballad (Song of the Newly-Wedded)
  • The Bells
  • Beloved Physician
  • Catholic Hymn 
  • The Coliseum
  • The Conqueror Worm
  • The Divine Right of Kings
  • The Doomed City (The City in the Sea)
  • A Dream
  • Dream-Land
  • Dreams
  • A Dream Within a Dream
  • Eldorado
  • Elizabeth
  • Eulalie
  • Evening Star
  • Fairyland
  • Fanny
  • For Annie 
  • The Happiest Day
  • The Haunted Palace
  • Imitation
  • Impromptu [To Kate Carol]
  • Irene (The Sleeper)
  • Israfel
  • The Lake
  • Latin Hymn
  • Lenore
  • [Lines on Joe Locke]
  • Lines Written in an Album (To Elizabeth) (To F——s S. O——d)
  • O, Tempora! O, Mores!
  • A Paean
  •  Preface (Romance) 
  • The Raven
  • Serenade
  • Song of Triumph
  • Sonnet (An Enigma)
  • Sonnet — Silence
  • Sonnet — To Science
  • Sonnet — To Zante
  • Spiritual Song
  • Stanzas (“In youth I have known one…”) 
  • Stanzas [To F. S. O.]
  • Tamerlane
  • To — (“The bowers whereat …”)
  • To —— (“Sleep on, sleep on, another hour …”)
  • To — (Song) 
  • To Helen (“Helen, thy beauty is to me…”)
  • To Helen (“I saw thee once — once only…”)
  • To Her Whose Name is Written Below (A Valentine) 
  • To M— (Alone) (“O! I care not that my earthly lot…”)
  • To M. L. S
  • To Margaret
  • To Mary (To One Departed ) 
  • To Marie Louise
  • To My Mother
  • To One in Paradise (To One Beloved), (To Ianthe in Heaven)
  • To ——[Violet Vane]
  • Ulalume
  • Spirits of the Dead
  • The Valley of Unrest (The Valley Nis)


Wednesday, October 29, 2025

🧬 Chasing Our Own Tales


What's Better Than Free? Free for Everyone, Forever!


Tracing your family lineage is now available free & with relative ease. To trace your lineage, start with yourself & work backward by documenting what you know, interviewing older relatives, & using resources like online genealogy sites, census records, & birth/marriage certificates. Keep detailed records of names, dates, & places, & use additional clues like occupation or religion to distinguish between ancestors with similar names. 

Living relatives memories are ideal because we get the emotions associated with the data. It delighted me to get a glimpse into the personalities of my paternal grandparents, who died when I was very young, by people who knew them better than me. 

"They were pioneers of the region: he was serious, honest, & responsible; she was jovial, welcoming, optimistic, & strong."

Interview older family members & ask about their memories, family stories, & any old documents or photos they might have to share. Ask for details like full names, maiden names, dates, & places of birth, marriage, & death. Take notes or use a phone to record the conversation (with permission). 

With a chart or online tool, it's fairly easy to input generation by generation. Be thorough & record every detail you find, no matter how small, as it can provide clues for the next step. Pay close attention to names, dates, & places, as these are the key identifiers for your ancestors. 

Look for birth, marriage, & death certificates. Some local & state archives provide access to these records. Census & Immigration Records can provide a snapshot of your ancestors at a specific time & location, including household members.



Cemetery records can group family members who are buried near each other & may provide additional information. Search historical newspaper archives for birth announcements, obituaries, & local stories. As you get further back, you will see that other people's 'leaves & branches' overlap your own. 

You could consider hiring a professional genealogist if you get stuck but I have found people are really glad to help. That has been my experience from using WikiTree. As you go back in time, you will begin to discover 'cousins' who have already filled in most of those blanks. I was thrilled to get 10 merge requests already. 

I just happen to have a lot of information, including 100-150 years of hometown books for both my parents, & a bunch of other families, so I feel  a sense of obligation to share what's at my fingertips. Once we start losing loved ones, it gets harder.

I have been so impressed with it that I want to tell everybody. WikiTree states that they're completely FREE for everyone, Forever! It's a fun puzzle that could be a great monthly activity with your kids or other family to cultivate deeper family ties. 

Genealogy helps to teach young people skills like critical thinking, research, & analysis. It also develops personal skills such as identity & self-esteem, creativity, & resilience. Additionally, it fosters communication & social skills through interviewing family members & a deeper appreciation for diversity.  The person being interviewed may also like reminiscing. Your work today will be a gift in the future.

Je me souviens. I remember.


Where are your families originally from?


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