On Friday, October 23, 2009, the New Rochelle High School English Department celebrated of “The Life and Works of Edgar Allen Poe” The annual event is sponsored by the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence. The festival, now in its tenth year, celebrates the life and works of noted authors, with a day of educational and engaging activities created by the NRHS English Department under the direction of Department Chairman Leslie Altschul. Students participated in the festival have studied each of the authors as well as the times in which they lived and wrote. There were various events including a seminar by renowned scholars. The symposium began with an honors seminar in the Kelly Theater with presentations by distinguished guests, including Barbara Cantalupo, who is Associate Professor of English at Penn State, Lehigh Valley. Professor Cantalupo spoke about “The Poe You Might Not Know.” Also presenting was David S. Reynolds, who is a Distinguished Professor of English, at CUNY who lectured on “Poe in His Times.” Returning to moderate and lecture for the tenth consecutive year was Richard Kopley, a graduate of the NRHS Class of ’67. Mr. Kopley is Professor of English at Penn State University, who lectured on “The Secrets of The Purloined Letter.” Following the honors lectures was a unique game show, “What Do You Know About Edgar Allan Poe?” Students in the PAVE (Performing and Visual Arts Education) program presented a skit based on Edgar Allen Poe. Students in English classes also participated in a computer-based multi-media scavenger hunt based on the Life and Works of Edgar Allen Poe.