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ISSUE . October 4th, 2007

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Cover Story

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We're Taking Poe Back

For years, Baltimore has laid claim to one of our greatest writers. Nevermore!

by Edward Pettit

This is a literary grave-robbing. On Sunday, Oct. 7, Edgar Allan Poe will have been dead for 158 years. His critical reputation has waxed and waned, and there have been many generic claims for Poe's works.

Not So Fast, Philly

Baltimore's most famous living mystery writer makes a case for keeping her city's most famous dead one.

by Laura Lippman

Possession is nine-tenths of the law, and this fact is indisputable: We have the body.

Fiction Reviews

Short reviews of recent fiction books.

Nonfiction Reviews

Short reviews of recent non-fiction books.

The Philadelphia Mummers: Building Community Through Play | Life, Liberty and the Mummers | The Book of Vice: Very Naughty Things (and How to Do Them) | Backyard Giants: The Passionate, Heartbreaking and Glorious Quest to Grow the Biggest Pumpkin Ever | The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible | Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir | Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

Thinking Outside the Book

Digging for treasure at this year's 215 Festival.

by Tami Fertig

The idea behind the 215 Festival is simple: Bookworms, geeks though they are, still like rocking out as much as the next guy.

Opinion

Editor's Letter:

That's So Raven

Poe's ours.

by Duane Swierczynski

When people die, they want their whole body to go with them. | "Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her pantyhose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound." | If you are not going to be one of the truth tellers, you are part of the cabal that is lying about it. What are you afraid of?

Slant:

CHIPped Off

Why doesn't Bush want kids to have medical coverage?

by Mary Wilson

If there's anything the folks in Washington can rally around these days, it's kids. They're cute, they're needy, and they're not a threat to anyone's job.

Loose Canon:

Phone Home

Councilman Clarke's revenge inflicts collateral damage on a fragile community.

by Bruce Schimmel

Everyone in Strawberry Hill knows Dottie Smith's big blond 'do and her big broad smile. They'd be hard to miss.

Feedback:

Letters to the Editor

What You Say

Naked City

At One with the Mystics

Climbing into a hole in Fairmount Park to see if a bunch of 17th-century monks left their mojo.

by Will Dean

I hoped that, like radioactive fallout at Chernobyl, some of the monks' special enlightenment energy was still active enough to make a visit special.

Running Numbers

A scholarly look at the digits that matter.

by Nick Norlen

Hello, readers. Have you ever wondered, "How can I, too, get handsomely paid for subjecting the masses to my idiosyncratic diatribes in a medium that has its own highly marketable logo?" Dream no more. Presenting: The Running Numbers Five-Step Program for Becoming Part of the Media Elite.

Fine Print:

Electric Slides

CityPaper.net exclusive: Was adventurer Burton Holmes the Bruce Springsteen of the early 20th century?

by A.D. Amorosi

Holmes' fancifully forked tongue — Noel Coward meets John Hodgman — embraced the world. Stopping at the Academy of Music as early as 1902, Holmes really busted out during his 1912 Panama tour. "It was in Philadelphia that we broke an all-time record ... while the great ditch was being dug and all Americans were eager to know more about it," wrote Holmes.

Know Your Escargot

Snail tales from mollusk master Dr. Gary Rosenberg.

by Eileen Talone

CP: Are your expeditions anything like The Life Aquatic?

GR: I never saw that. But one movie connection is Buckaroo Bonzai. The mother spaceship is modeled after an oyster shell, and the pods that pop out of it are modeled after the spider conch.

CP: That sounds sweet.

GR: It was.

Icepack

Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.

by A.D. Amorosi

When PNI guy Brian Tierney left front pages of his papers behind on the Ritz stage where he introduced Seinfeld to the morning preview crowd, all Fusilli Jerry from NYC could say was, "Thanks for the Phillies dreck." So commenced the horn-honking, mook-hooting reign that is Phillies fever. No, I won't call it "phever" until we hit the Series. Even then, not so much

News

Food Processes

Can the "farm-to-school" movement gain traction in Philly?

by Tom Namako

"There were too many cheese pizzas, there were hamburgers that were 'mystery meat,' there was overcooked pasta," Aissia says. "She was being loaded with empty carbs."

The Bell Curve

City Paper's Quality-o-Life-o-Meter

When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.

Fowl Play

Philly and foie gras.

by Doron Taussig

Some restaurateurs have decided that fighting these anti-foie-gras forces isn't worth the trouble — Stephen Starr, for instance, removed the dish from his menus. But others have decided to meet them head on. Chief among these have been Michael and Terry McNally, the proprietors of Fairmount's London Grill.

Philly Blunt:

The Book that Could Save America

From this column forward, I am Obama's blatant, unapologetic Philly partisan

by Brian Hickey

He's not all that different from his Democratic opponents when it comes to most of the hot buttons like getting out of Iraq and health care. But in the big-picture worldview, nobody comes close to offering what Obama does.

Political Notebook:

Giuliani Wit

South Philly locals flocked to Geno's to glimpse Rudy.

by Mary F. Patel

Considered the front-runner for the GOP presidential ticket, Giuliani should have few problems taking the state.

Arts

Art:

Wall of Confusion

Graffiti's most enduring legend and its most dedicated documentarian discuss the art form's hazy origins at the 215 Fest.

by Shaun Brady

"I've been accused of making vandalism beautiful," admits Jon Naar, and perusing his new book, The Birth of Graffiti, it's a hard point to argue.

First Friday Focus

Lori Hill's First Friday Hit List

by Lori Hill

Third Street Gallery: Tony Rocco | Power Plant Building: Bike Parts Art Show

Re-View:

Off-Hand Elegance

Charles Burwell: Paintings and Works on Paper

by Robin Rice

"I always want to create a world," Charles Burwell said in describing his paintings at the opening of his show at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts.

Theater Review:

High Lonesome

Lonesome West is a tough play to get right, but Lantern's production is masterful.

by David Anthony Fox

There's a hanging crucifix in the little Irish cottage, as well as a set of holy figurines placed in a family grouping, and a framed photo of the beloved pet dog. But it's the rifle hanging over the mantel that really sets the stage.

War at 11

Miss Saigon still resonates.

by Mark Cofta

Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil — the composer and lyricist team behind Les Miserables — set Puccini's melodramatic Madama Butterfly in the Vietnam War's moral quagmire. Today's audiences know all about that sort of thing.

Unfair to Middling

Amadeus is a bloated trifle of a play.

by David Anthony Fox

I love highbrow theater. Also lowbrow theater. What I despise is middlebrow theater with pretensions.

Back to Life

Can anyone else bring off Tomlin vehicle Search for Signs?

by David Anthony Fox

I was dubious, so let me start off with the very good news. Jane Wagner's Search remains a witty, trenchant, luminous play. (Yes, a play. Really. Not simply a monologue for Tomlin.)

Arts Picks:

Pennsylvania Ballet

Oct. 10-13, 8 p.m.; Oct. 13-14, 2 p.m., Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St., 215-551-7000, www.paballet.org.

by Janet Anderson

It's a hello-and-goodbye fall season opener for Pennsylvania Ballet. Hello to a season highlighted by a long overdue new Nutcracker production. A fond goodbye to Matthew Neenan.

Irwin Chusid

Thu., Oct. 4, 6 p.m., free, Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust Walk, 215-573-9748, www.writing.upenn.edu/~wh.

by Shaun Brady

Chusid has shined the spotlight on musicians so far out of the mainstream that many wouldn't even recognize them, without condescension or any pretense that all are created equal.

Philly Dance Fest

Sat., Oct. 6, 1:30-9 p.m., $12.50-$18 per show; festival pass $65, Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, 601 N. Lansdowne Ave., Drexel Hill, 610-394-9182, www.phillydancefest.com.

by Deni Kasrel

Only a die-hard dance fiend would likely have the desire to sit through the entire Philly Dance Fest program. That's not a critical assessment, mind you, but rather a statement of fact.

Arts Agenda

Last Chance

Catch it or Regret It

by Holly Otterbein

Three Sixty Five | Le Plastik Noir | Lisa Hurwitz

Arts Agenda Picks:

In The Event That...

You Can Take the Heat

by Aly Semigran

Female Flame-Off: Fri.-Sat., Oct. 5-6, noon-10:30 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 7, 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m., free, Philadelphia Glass Works, 908 N. Third St., 215-627-3655, www.phillyglassworks.com Glassblowing isn't for

Just Do It

The Kennedys: Portrait of a Family

by Luke Sirinides

In 1961, fashion photog Richard Avedon shot a series of up-close-and-personal portraits of the 35th first family. Six of these images made it into a photo essay in Harper's Bazaar. As part of "The Kennedys: Portrait of a Family," 27 of the session's leftover black-and-white photos will be on public display for the first time at the National Constitution Center.

On The DL

In Conflict

by Mark Cofta

Douglas C. Wager's In Conflict — a stage adaptation of former Philadelphia Daily News scribe Yvonne Latty's book containing 25 American soldiers' firsthand accounts of the Iraq war — should prove an exciting challenge for Temple University's student actors.

Galleries

Galleries are usually open Tuesdays through Saturdays; please call the gallery for exact days and hours. Receptions are denoted with Reception 201 GALLERY , 1400

Museums/Exhibits

Museums and exhibits have varying schedules; please callfor exact days, hours and prices. ABINGTON ART CENTER , 515 Meetinghouse Rd., Jenkintown, 215-887-4882. INSIDE/OUTSIDE: HABITAT, Features

Performing Arts

Please call the phone number listed with the venue for specific dates, times and ticket information. dance COMPANY B Come boogey to the sounds with

Readings/Book Signings

"ON THE ROAD" TURNS 50 Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jack Kerouac's masterpiece, "On the Road." There will be a performance by musician and Kerouac

Movies

Out With a Bang

How Jesse James met his maker but kept his legend alive.

by Shaun Brady

Completed nearly two years ago and held up in post-production limbo, The Assassination of Jesse James has finally emerged, surprisingly intact.

Screen Picks

by Sam Adams

Considering that it's often ranked among the most controversial movies ever made, the most surprising thing about Song of the South is how innocuous it is.

Winter of Discontent

An Arctic thriller delivers shivers.

by Cindy Fuchs

"Alaska, the land of black gold." So named by a promo film for the fictional North Industries, the setting for Larry Fessenden's new eco-horror film is wide, white and windy — and not nearly so willing to give up its riches as North presumes.

Phantom Menace

The Last Winter's Larry Fessenden envisions the end — with monsters.

by Sam Adams

Call Larry Fessenden's The Last Winter an environmental fable, or call it the scariest thing since An Inconvenient Truth. Just don't call it a monster movie.

Repertory Film

Send repertory film listings to tami.fertig@citypaper.net. ADRIENNE THEATER 2030 Sansom St., www.firstglancefilms.com. FirstGlance Film Festival Indie films and seminars for 10 days straight. Runs through

Music

Begins at Home

Denison Witmer gives it away for charity.

by John Vettese

[Listen] Witmer has long been fascinated with stories of St. Francis of Assisi, making an ongoing project out of a song cycle based on the altruistic monk (recording-wise, that project's only installment is "Little Flowers," originally on Are You a Dreamer? but rendered nicely on Happy Birthday Denison).

Reconsider Me:

Disconjoined

M.J. Fine does it again

The drummer was on drugs. The bassist and guitarist stopped dating. And it fell to one man to bear the weight of the world. That's where Billy Corgan found himself in December 1992.

CD Reviews

The Donnas | The Simpsons | Harry Shearer

It tells you all you need to know about the relative decline of The Simpsons that where the sitcom's first nine seasons yielded two CDs' worth of musical highlights, the most recent nine years have resulted in only this one.

Soundadvice

Get Out!

Music Picks:

Crispell/Helias/Cyrille

Sat., Oct. 6, 8 p.m., $20, with Lytton/Wooley Duo, Rose Recital Hall (Room 419), Fisher-Bennett Hall, University of Pennsylvania, 34th and Walnut streets, www.arsnovaworkshop.com.

by Shaun Brady

The music of pianist Marilyn Crispell always seems to ask more questions than it answers.

Sunset Rubdown

Wed., Oct. 10, 9 p.m., $12, all ages, with Magic Weapon, and Johnny & the Moon, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, www.r5productions.com.

by Brian Howard

While Krug's songs in Wolf Parade tend toward the histrionic, Sunset Rubdown is Krug's laboratory, a vent for his more oblong, introspective tendencies.

Orchestra 2001

Sat., Oct. 6, 8 p.m., $27-$32, Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Columbus Blvd.; Sun., Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m., free, Lang Concert Hall, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, 215-922-2190, www.orchestra2001.org.

by Peter Burwasser

The late French master Olivier Messiaen was fascinated by bird song, and that influence appears in nearly all of his work in some way.

Food

Tres Evidence

Trio's fusion food satisfies, but doesn't thrill.

by Trey Popp

How exciting it would have been to discover the unexpected harmonies possible when two radically different cuisines came together.

Feeding Frenzy

Restaurants opening, closing and pending

by Drew Lazor

>> NOW SEATING Gardenia Restaurant 251 S. 18th St., 215-732-3606 | Gaja Gaja 627 South St. 215-923-0313 >> WAITING LIST Good Karma Cafe 331 S. 22nd St.

Twice Bitten

by Trey Popp

At press time, Cobre, a Puerto Rican/Mexican restaurant that opened on North Broad four months ago, was serving lunch and dinner. It is anyone's guess how long that state of affairs will last.

Six Degrees of Bacon

James Villas' new book celebrates everyone's favorite food.

by Drew Lazor

How much does James Villas love bacon? Why, he thought you'd never ask.

What's Cooking:

The Week In Eats

Get Out!

by Felicia D'Ambrosio

Wine & Dinosaurs | Savor the Shambles | Freedom Foie Gras for Five | Sugar Makeover with Christina Cooks | Indian Summer Beer Tasting and Dinner

Top 5:

Not-Your-Typical Bubble Teas

Pearl Jams

by Luke Sirinides

1 Taro Bubble Tea | 2 Red Bean Tea | 3 Concoct Your Own | 4 Sour Blue Raspberry Tea | 5 Pumpkin Pie Tea

Watering Hole:

La Pearl Lounge and Outer Space Club

It's Where We Drink

by Will Dean

54th and Pearl streets, 215-747-9487 The La Pearl Lounge and Outer Space Club is probably pretty similar to your favorite neighborhood bar — that is,

Small Bites

Little Vittles

Torchon of Foie Gras at Tinto | Meatpaper | Dale Jr.'s Big Mo' Bar

You Ask We Answer

Culinary Mysteries Solved

Q: Now that the weather is turning cool, where you can still sit outside without freezing to death?

Agenda

Agenda Lead:

Erin Go Live

Lafayette skips the studio.

by A.D. Amorosi

Jazzbo Erin McKeown is playing Philly on the same night Bruce Springsteen arrives, but that's about all they have in common.

Agenda Picks:

Just Do It

Doug Stanhope

by Ben Kharakh

"Evidently it's socially acceptable to get your thrills if it results in great calves and a tan, but frowned upon if it only gives you empathy for the human condition."

Just Do It

Sexual Freedom Day

by Deesha Dyer

When the Woodhull Freedom Foundation set out to explore the complications and fundamentals of sexual freedom, they didn't stop at sexuality and gender.

What We Heart

Lux Babydoll Cardigans

by Felicia D'Ambrosio

As the sticky of summer surrenders to the crispy of October, your short dresses need only the perfect cardigan to make an effortless temperature transition.

Just Do It

Mutt Strut

by Aly Semigran

Your apartment probably isn't big enough to accommodate every puppy and kitty you want to give a home. Even if it was, nobody likes the cat lady.

On The DL

Bottom Line Thinking for a Sustainable City

by Ptah Gabrie

Seattle's new landscaping ordinance, Seattle Green Factor, requires more trees and plants along urban streets and rewards businesses for greening the property around their establishment.