A documentary airing on PBS and produced by a College Park filmmaker explores the life and lasting influence of Baltimore’s literary icon, Edgar Allan Poe.
Filmmaker Andrew Kaplan said the two-part documentary, “In Search of Edgar Allan Poe,” intertwines Poe’s short stories and poetry with his life story. It features interviews with scholars specializing in the 19th-century American writer, poet and literary critic.
“The documentary is not afraid to really delve into the more challenging parts of his life and also the times in which he was living,” Kaplan said. “I don’t think sadness should be swept under the rug all the time. … It’s part of history, it’s part of life.”
The film premiered on Oct. 25 on PBS stations in Los Angeles and Spokane and on the PBS app. It reached East Coast audiences in the District on PBS station WFPT and in Salisbury and Baltimore on Nov. 1 on Maryland Public Television.
Originally released on Tubi in 2024, the film is also available through select public libraries nationwide and can be streamed on YouTube, Amazon Prime Video and other platforms.
The documentary explores how Poe, who lived in Baltimore from the 1830s until his death in 1849, helped shape modern literature, coining more than 1,000 terms and phrases, and influencing genres such as detective fiction and science fiction, according to Kaplan.
Poe’s work influenced writers including Herman Melville and Agatha Christie. The film highlights figures often overlooked in Poe’s life, including his mother-in-law, Maria Clemm, and his wife, Virginia.
“We want to give a voice to some people who never really got it in other documentaries,” Kaplan said.
Kaplan founded College Park-based East Rock Films in 2019. “In Search of Edgar Allan Poe” is the third in a series of films under the “In Search Of” tag, following “In Search of Walt Whitman,” which also aired on PBS, and “In Search of Thoreau,” available on YouTube. Kaplan said he spent more than a year researching the documentary, reading Poe’s letters and other documents.
His colleague, Alfred Robert “AR” Hogan, a historical consultant and script editor at East Rock Films, also contributed heavily to research. Hogan met Kaplan at the University of Maryland’s journalism college in 2005 while both were graduate students. Their first collaboration was “In Search of Walt Whitman.”
Like Poe, Hogan is a Boston native, which he said gives him a personal connection to the project. As a career science journalist, he contributed to the documentary’s science fiction segment. “[Poe] is a giant of literature from the 19th century, and he had … such a varied and enduring impact on both writers and even scientists,” Hogan said. “I think people will have a full appreciation of this major figure in literature” after watching the documentary.
Kaplan acknowledged that not all viewers may have the attention span for a three-hour film. However, he said it was important to dive deeply into Poe’s story to fully understand his life and character. “I wanted to get to know him a lot better,” Kaplan said. “What inspired him? What were his lifelong ambitions? What did he really love in life? … I always knew his story was a little sad, but I didn’t know quite how.”
Actor Paul Synowiec, who voiced Poe, said working on the documentary expanded his knowledge and pushed him out of his comfort zone. “I felt like this was going to be something that definitely added to the body of knowledge out there about people’s awareness about Poe, and it’s always great to be involved with a project that is important like that,” Synowiec said.
In developing Poe’s character, Synowiec worked closely with East Rock Films associate producer Nora Krasniqi, whose poetry knowledge and insight helped bring out his best performance, he said.
Kaplan said he hoped to allow viewers to experience the melancholy and challenges Poe faced, including a drinking problem and the loss of loved ones. “Everyone always tries to pretend everything’s perfect all the time, and it’s not, and that’s OK,” Kaplan said. “I mean, that’s life. That’s the human experience.”