One of America’s greatest writers was the subject of a recent edition of the “MTSU On the Record” radio program and a rescheduled symposium.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Dr. Harry Lee Poe, an indirect descendant of Edgar Allan Poe, first aired Feb. 9 on WMOT-FM (89.5 and www.wmot.org ). You can listen to their conversation here.

Dr. Harry Lee Poe

Harry Lee Poe, the Charles Colson Professor of Faith and Culture at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, was scheduled to speak at “A SymPoesium on Place” Feb. 18 in the Simmons Amphitheatre of MTSU’s Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building.

University closures because of inclement weather forced the cancellation of the symposium, however. Organizers say the event will be rescheduled later this semester.

When it is conducted this spring, the symposium will be a daylong exploration of the role locations play in Edgar Allan Poe’s prose and poetry, aiming to delve deeper than his pop-culture image as the master of gruesome horror tales.

Experts will discuss the intellect and skill of the author of such staples of American literature as “The Cask of Amantillado,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” as well as poems such as “To Lenore, “Annabel Lee” and “The Raven.”

A special exhibition of Edgar Allan Poe’s artifacts from Harry Lee Poe’s personal collection also will be displayed in the special collections area on the fourth floor of the James E. Walker Library the day of the symposium.

Dr. Poe also will speak at the library, and a reception will follow.

“What set Poe apart was the skill with which he told a story,” the scholar explained, “and, for Poe, if you’ll notice, the horror takes place offstage.

“In Poe’s stories, everything is understated, and what he does is collaborate with the reader’s imagination so that the reader has to fill in part of the terror and part of the horror.”

Harry Lee Poe was president of The Museum of Edgar Allan Poe in Richmond, Virginia. He is author of “Evermore: Edgar Allan Poe and the Mystery of the Universe.”

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, visit the searchable “Audio Clips” archives at www.mtsunews.com.

For more information about “MTSU On the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.