Newspaper Page Text
March 18, 1992
Flagpole Magazine
Page 23
Allan Poe.
Poe was aware of Chivers’s work as
early as 1835 when he was editor of the
Southern Literary Messenger. Their first
contact was in 1840 and it set the tone of the
relationship which was to last until Poe's
death: Poe wrote Chivers for money to start
a magazine; Chivers replied, hedging about
the money but eager to engage Poe in a
literary dialog. Chi vers generally wrote three
letters to every one he received from Poe.
Despite Poe’s often desperate panhandling
and his honest evaluation of much of
Chivers's work, a friendship developed be
tween them. In an 1841 article Poe wrote,
“Dr. Thomas Holley Chivers, of New York, is
at the same time one of the best and one of
the worst poets in America. His productions
affect one as a wiid dream...’
Chivers’s second marriage was happy.
He and Harriet had four children in as many
years, Chivers’s favorite being the oldest,
Allegra Florence. Eight years before his
daughter’s birth, Chivers had seen her and
her little brother in a vision as small angels
appearing to an accompaniment of unearthly
music. In 1842, while the Chiverses were
living in Massachusetts, Chivers was taking
a walk with Allegra Florence on his thirty-
third birthday when she cried out, “Father, I
am too heavy!’ and collapsed. She died of
typhoid fever that night.
Chivers never recovered. He took his
daughter’s body on the long sea, river and
highway journey to Washington, Georgia
and buried he r there (the local story, which
this writer heard many times from old Wash
ingtonians in the early 1970s, was that
Chivers kept the girl’s embalmed corpse on
his dining room table for weeks until his
horrified house slaves spilled the beans,
and a committee of prominent citizens forced
their way into the house and forced the
deranged father to bury his child). The fam
ily rejoined Chivers in Washington and within
a year his three other children had died. Two
months after his first daughter’s death,
Chivers wrote “To Allegra Florence in
Heaven,’ the first of scores of poems he
would write on the deaths of his children,
and the poem which would earn him a per
manent footnote in American literary history.
Next Week: Thomas Holley Chivers:
Poe and Beyond
Copyright 1592 John Seawright
Through Atlanta Darkly
Another St. Patrick’s Day came and went and chances are you drank green beer, did
something resembling a jig, screamed “Kiss me, I’m Irish!’ a few times and called it a night.
But where I come from, we take St. Patrick’s Day the same way we take our music...very
seriously. Everyone knows Ireland’s favorite sons Van Morrison and U2, but there’s a
wealth of talent yet to be discovered on this side of the Atlantic.
Luka Bloom isn't exactly new on the music scene, but because commercial radio finally
caught on to him, you might be led to believe he’s another “major discovery’ a la Chris
Issak. Acoustic Motorbike is his second U.S. release and forth album (the other two are
out-of-print imports). Luka is on tour and will be at the Variety Playhouse April 23. He puts
on a damn fine show. Just cross your fingers that he does "I Need Love" live so you can
watch all the women stop and salivate for three minutes.
An Emotional Fish is a four-man group from Dublin...when they played Atlanta last
March it was the middle of spring break and the Dead, Book of Love, and Drivin' ’n’ Cryin’
were all playing the same night. Bummer of a small crowd, maybe 50 people or so, but
you’d never guess it from the energetic display they put on. At one point, during a song
that should have sent the audience dancing, lead singer Gerard Whelan (pronounced
COMPLETE MANIAC) stopped the band asked the audience if they were having fun,
"cause if ycu were really enjoying yourselves, you’d be dancin’ your arses off.* With that
he jumped off the stage, shaped the crowd into a hand-holding serpentine chain and led
the whole group around the dance floor in a herky-jerky-kicking-let loose and scream
release. Later he coaxed the 20 or so in front of the stage to squeeze in tight for a close-up
picture. That gives you a good idea of why, after the whole shebang was over, guitarist
David Frew muttered, "That was a mother of a show." Gerard shook his head, laughing,
“No man, that was a grandmother of a fucking show.’
The Four of Us have gotten little attention stateside, but blame it on their record
company. They’re on Columbia, but haven’t been able to get U.S. distribution, the Four
of Us has a style lighter than Mary My Hope, less pretentious than Love and Rockets, and
kind of homey and friendly to boot. If you can’t find a copy of their tape, I’ll gladly pirate
mine for you.
Ghost of an American Airman is a Belfast band with a good sound but a crummy name.
They’re starting out on a quick U.S. tour —you might catch them toward the end of March
or beginning of April. Listen for their single “Honeychild," it s a surprisingly good first effort.
And finally, last but not least is Andy White. He is no stranger to the music world, but
because he’s a one-guitar act with a somewhat political slant, he hasn t broken through to
commercial radio in the U.S. He opened for Hothouse Flowers on their last U.S. tour and
lit the flame underneath the audience with "In a Groovy Kind of Way.* Someone once told
me that Bob Geldof and Andy White were roommates in Belfast for a while, but that could
be just another goofy rumor. If you want songs that inform and entertain without preaching
or being complacent, try Ns 1987 album Rave On or 1990 s himself. I had a copy of Kiss
the Big Stone at one time, but someone lifted it. Andy White, hear my plea...
Thurs., Mar. 19 • $10
The
Radiators
a
with Northern Lights
Advance tickets availible at
Bigshot Records Mon 16th
Fri., Mar. 20 • $6
Randall
Biamblett Band
Showtime 9:30
, ,
Sat., Mar. 21 • $1
Mark
axwell
Maxwe
All-Star Jam
featuring all your favorite
Local Musicians!
Mon., Mar. 23
Movie Night
The Premiere Tour
of Danny Boyd's
"Paradise Park"-
Featuring the music of T.
Graham Brown &
Dash Board Saviors
Tues., Mar. 24 &
Wed., Mar. 25
Movie Night
Piaked
Lunch
showtime 7 & 10 • $1.50
Thurs., Mar. 26*
Fri., Mar. 27 & Sat., Mar 28
Call for
Listings
Coming the Beginning of
Spring Qtr.:.
Mon., Mar. 30 *$5
WHITE
BUFFALO
Tues., Mar. 31 • $5
Poi Dog
Pondering
' with special guest
TIXY LIGHTS 1
Thurs., Apr. 2 • $5
Dreams
So Real
Fri., Apr. 3 • $7
They Might
Be Giants
Mon., Apr. 6 • $5
The Pipefitters
with
. Lou
Diamond
Phillips
* * \
Tues., Apr. 7 • FREE
BRAVES
opening night on the.
Giant Movie Screen
All Tickets Will Be Sold At
The Ticket Booth Unless Otherwise Stated
ALL SHOWS Begin At 10 P.M. • Doors Open At 8 P.M.
Corner of Lumpkin & Clayton • 549-9918