I was substitute teaching a class of 5th graders. For some reason I mentioned “The Raven” to them. I was surprised that not a single one of them had ever heard of it.
I told them I wished I could read it to them. One of the kids was smarter than me and told me the library probably had it. After a few minutes he came back with it.
While I was reading it to them, I realized many of the words were way above their comprehension. As it turned out it didn’t matter. When I finished, the kids spontaneously began to applaud.
That’s awesome to hear another generation enjoying it. That might be the greatest read of all time. It’s perfect.
Kids like it because of the rhyming, it’s like a rap song, it’s musical. What I find fascinating about Poe is he wrote a lot about madness and he actually was found that way right before he died. Completely out of his mind wearing someone else’s clothes.
I bought a Classics Illustrated comic book of The Raven, illustrated by noted cartoonist Gahan Wilson, and read it to my son when he was maybe 5 or 6. He loved it. I need to see if it’s still around. Kid turns 30 this year.
http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=122571