Philadelphia has cheesesteaks, now it wants a Poe boy

Edgar Allan Poe is buried in Baltimore for the very simple reason that he died there in 1849. For a long time, the city didn't think that was a big deal. Apparently only a handful of folks showed up for his funeral and his grave didn't even have a headstone for more than 20 years. But all that has changed. Baltimore now has a Poe Museum only a few blocks from his grave and the city's NFL team is named after Poe's most famous poem.

But according to this story in today's New York Times, the city of Philadelphia says Poe's body belongs there. Why? Because apparently in the mid-19th century the City of Brotherly Love wasn't. In fact, the rampant crime and violence there at that time, according to Poe scholar Edward Pettit, inspired Poe's invention of the detective fiction genre. In an article in a Philadelphia paper, Pettit implored his fellow citizens of Philadephia to "hop in our cars, drive down I-95 and appropriate a body from a certain Baltimore cemetary. I'll bring the shovel."

No one has taken Pettit up on his offer and, in response, Jeff Jerome, the curator of Baltimore's Poe House, has said "If they want a body, they can have John Wilkes Booth."

But being the civilized men of letters that they are, Pettit and Jerome have decided they will settle their feud with a debate at 20 paces Jan. 13 at the Philadelphia Free Library. Jerome is already predicting victory: "I will argue the other guy down with grace and facts. Then I will walk over to him like a gentleman and punch him square in the nose."