Poe Returning to Boston: Stefanie Rocknak, Sculptor

From The Daily Star (www.thedailystar.com):

Stefanie Rocknak, sculptor and associate professor of philosophy at Hartwick, helped unveil the commemorative sculpture she created of the poet, titled “Poe Returning to Boston,” on Sunday. The sculpture is located at Edgar Allan Poe Square, a 1,700-square-foot triangular brick plaza at the intersection of Charles and Boylston streets across from Boston Common. The site was dedicated to the famous author in 2009, according to the Edgar Allan Poe Foundation of Boston.

“Just off the train, the figure will be walking south toward his likely place of birth, where his mother and father once lived,” Rocknak described. “Poe, with a trunk full of ideas — and worldwide success — is finally coming home.” The sculpture is located just two blocks north of where Poe was born in 1809.

“I wanted it to be accessible, so I made him life-size and the raven larger-than-life, like his reputation. People seemed really attracted to the statue,” Rocknak said. “This is a triumphant Poe, returning confidently after 165 years of literary success. The imagery is obvious and immediate. The raven represents [Poe’s] global fame and endurance, the trunk full of papers symbolizes the scope and power of his work, and the trailing pages are engraved with texts published in or written about Boston.”