David Templeton, the Community and Arts and Entertainment Editor of the Petaluma Argus-Courier (California) shared some thoughts about Edward Gorey earlier this month (Feb. 10):
Edward Gorey is one of those artists whose name and body of work are known mainly to very strange people. People with a dark sense of humor. People who enjoy book titles that pair up words like “beastly” and “baby,” “fatal and lozenge,” “glorious” and “nosebleed,” “eclectic” and “Abecedarium.”
Gorey fans tend to display a deep appreciation for the macabre and the morose. To them, a drawing of a tombstone effortlessly signals a happy ending. A strange creature riding a bicycle, while dressed smartly in Edwardian attire, just makes sense. To such folk, a sketch of someone holding a dagger becomes immediately interesting, if not outright hilarious, while the mere suggestion of a grisly death to blank-faced victims, or the sight of small child being carried away by a giant fly, brings an instant smile.
The centenary of his birth will take place Feb. 22, with his 100th birthday being honored in a variety of ways all over the world. A predictably off-the-wall party at his one-time Massachusetts home has been sold out for months. A number of bookstores across the nation will hold their own events, including – it may come as no surprise – Petaluma’s own Word Horde Emporium of the Weird and Fantastic.
On Sunday, Feb. 23, the uncommonly curious book shop at the Petaluma Outlets mall will be celebrating Gorey’s birthday with a little party that will, of course, include readings of some of the author’s best and strangest works.
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