I first discovered Gorey's works fifteen years ago while working in a bookshop in Washington, DC. I was the shipping/receiving clerk. Upon opening a newly arrived box of books, I found a copy of Edward Gorey's Amphigorey. Well, it was 'love' at first sight. I've been collecting reprints of his books ever since. My three favorites are: The Doubtful Guest, The Beastly Baby and The Willowdale Handcar. Sincerely, Aaron .... The news of Mr. Gorey's demise was unexpected and disenheartening when I finally learned of it on Tuesday, April 18. Saddening? Very, but at age 75, Mr. Gorey had had time to leave behind an impressive body of work. Work sought after by fans of his uniquely macabri illustrative style. I am one of those fans. I first discovered the work of Mr. Gorey when i was 7 years old; he illustrated the covers and frontispieces of a seires of books by John Bellairs (an author who i enjoyed reading at the time). However, it didn't actually occur to me to seek out the work of Mr. Gorey until I was a bit older, when i saw a copy of "the Ghastlycrumb Tinies" at a local bookstore. The art was instantly recognizable: dark, moody, and drawn with a line quality that cannot be ignored. Hatched and cross-hatched in such a way as to seem like a simple sketch, until you take a closer look and realise that each and every little line was deliberately placed....It's intricate, to say the least. As an aspiring artist, I can appreciate the distinctive motif and line characteristics that was Mr. Gorey's hallmark. His way of representing the world, the antique, combined with a wonderfully morbid sense of humour is what places him among my favourite illustrators; kind of a secret, dark, indulgence. Mr. Gorey will be missed by myself, and you as well, i'll wager (you're reading this aren't you?), but his presence will still be around...Now, every time I go to pull a page off of my day by day calendar, I'll look at the illustration, and think of the man who once penned the strangely gothic image before me. Goodbye Mr. Gorey. ~allison s .... I will always remember my first and only sighting of the wiley Mr. Gorey during an east coast road trip in 1997. I had pulled my van over to look at some books in a used bookstore that occupied the first floor of an old house in a small town on Cape Cod. During a casual scan of boxes on a table, I found one full of Edward Gorey prints. I was surprised and pleased, but didn't have the money to spare. I commented on the prints to the cashier (who actually owned the store) and mentioned how much I like Gorey's work. "Oh, really?" he said. "Did you see him?" "See who?" I asked. "Edward Gorey. He just left. Didn't you see him walking past you?" "You're joking right?" He reached into his register and pulled out a credit card receipt. Yep, it was the old boy's signature. I was floored. He had been in the same room with me and I hadn't even realized it; but this wasn't surprising considering the fact that I had never seen a picture of him. "Damn. Wish I had known it. Oh well, a near b! rush with genius. Do you know if 'Jack's Outback' is a good place to eat?" I had read about it in a Lonely Planet guidebook. "Actually, that's where Ed goes for lunch every day. In fact, that was where he was headed for right now." I immediately asked for Gorey's physical description and the owner directed me to a book that had a picture of the elusive Gorey. Off I went, trying to follow his trail. After braving the Outback's anti-tourist sign, I went inside, ordered at the counter, and spied an empty table. At first I didn't see him, but I did see his table. Or at least it had to be his, since it was the only one overflowing with books. I casually walked by, cocking my head at an acute angle in an attempt to read the French titles (high school French doesn't last forever), then sat at a corner table a discreet distance from his table. Trying not to look obvious, I scanned the room and !ah ha! there he was: freely rooting around in the restaurant's refrigerator. He looked jus! t like what I had imagined. He had the same aristocratic, yet bored bearing of one of the characters in his cartoons (the human toons, of course). I ate my sandwich and occasionally glanced at him as he read Chekhov and ate some fruit. Then I left. I didn't ask for his autograph..just seeing him had been enough. Then, this past Monday morning, a coworker in my office offhandedly mentioned that Edward Gorey had died over the weekend. Surprising myself, and my coworker, I started to cry. Why couldn't you have held on longer Gorey? I guess it was your time...just know that I will always remember you and how your drawings (the PBS Mystery intro, illustrations in Bellairs' books, etc.) enhanced my imagination during my childhood and adult years. Au revoir, Monsieur Gorey. Andrea D O .... Well..iam just a 14 yr. old kid, And so...I know my saying doesn't mean much but well, I was just recently introduced to Edward Gorey and his works through the Nine Inch Nails video "the Perfect drug" and well, I liked what he did. I thought it was very good stuff, and very intertaining. Its really sad, to have him go, when me, and many other I know (I introduced him to them) were just getting to know his works. Tomorrow, for my English class, we are to do a report on poet, artists, stuff like that, and I was planing on doin one on him, and now I will even make it even more better, by making it a little..tribute report. --AnoynNaga .... His vision bound together his tone and his line; one was always sure one was dealing with the real thing. And beyond this unity, there was an authenticity in his vision. It rang true. He left a fine body of work. "Gorey" is one of the ties with several dear friends of mine. God speed. Yours, Arthur S .... already depressed I enjoy a vision of ghouls in high tops It does seem so appropriate Edward Gorey has to live in this place I took opiates but cartoons by Edward Gorey still connected an image focused I'm still here --B JONES A .... A part of my whole life has gone....where? --BkrHnt .... Sorry to read of his passing - although until today, I had never heard of his name or knew what he did. Here's to the past 75 years of his life on this planet. Sincerely - Cameron C .... Edward Gorey was a favorite of mine. Never met him, never was that lucky, but I once flew to Manhattan to see the Dracula production, just because he designed the sets and costumes. It was marvelous. Had a dog named Treehorn. I will miss him. Cheefwil .... Goodbye Edward, You will continue to live on as the innumerable number of fans, old and new, continue to enjoy your wit and art. As for the prospect of no future Gorey adventures, I think the world will be in a state of ennui without your curious contributions. With reverence, awe, and sadness, I shall miss the world in which you lived. Chris B .... The world is a lesser place today without Edward Gore. Regards Cynthia .... R.I.P. 1925-2000 What, indeed, caused to expire the master of the doleful and the dire? Was he trampled by mad giraffes, or consumed by fits of laughs? Maybe he was slice head-to-toe by a lengthy saber, or bored out of existence by an incessant neighbor. Quite possibly he was over-intoxicated by sweet mountain laurels, or swam too close to deadly poisonous fire corals. Might he have incurred a brick to the cerebellum, or drowned in a snifter of absinthe sipped in Deep Ellum? Perhaps he was spanked once too oft by a randy harlot, or taken with an intense fever of scarlet. Did he meet the end in painful crucifiction, or was the end simply brought about by personal dereliction? Or was it, in fact, the rug, the thug, the lake, or the lye taken by mistake? No, it was none of these that forever put his life at ease. Instead the story of one Edward Gorey (or Ogdred Weary as he was known to the truly leery) ends quite bland, I doth attest, extinguished, as he was, by a truly tasteless cardiac arrest! -- Cory A. W .... G is for Gorey who we will miss very much -- Cruella889 .... I became a fan of Mr. gorey as a child watching Mystery on PBS. As I grew older and being in the performing arts I became aquatinted with Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats of which I found a copy illustrated by Mr. Gorey. Since then I have tried to find pieces of his in art stores and was suppressed to find that many art dealers were unaware of Mr. Gorey. Mayhaps with his untimely passing his works will gain wider acceptance within the art world. We can only hope. Thinking of Mr. Gorey. R is for Richard who died in an orchard. -- Curtis G .... i live in providence, rhode island. it is always a pleasure to find out about performances and exhibits of edward gorey's work. over the past couple of years there have been several plays written by gorey that have been presented close-by enough for my wife and i to attend...i remember one, called "english soup," put on in a "theatre"/garage on cape cod...it was more of a garage. it was great. we drove excitedly out there after finding out about this thing at the very last minute. it didn't take long...the play was about to begin and this man walks in and stood off to the side of us. he was edward gorey. the play was dark and very funny, which means everyone laughs at different times...he laughed when no one else laughed and made it all the more obvious that his work goes even deeper than any of even his biggest admirers can see. in this age of change in the world we must thank him for keeping the old ways alive. his work is like finding an old typewriter in an antique store and realizing that you have to have it because you remember that there was typing before computers and you always got ink on your fingers trying to fix the ribbon when it got jammed up...thank you edward gorey. i will think of you often. -c.daltry .... One of my most treasured possessions is "The Epeleptic Bicycle", among so many others collected over time. He will always live on for me in those wonderful books and illustrations. Mystery...........indeed. -- Daniel F .... As in "The Remembered Visit", I waited too late to write you. I still have your envelope ready and on a windy day I'm going to let it get to you through an open window, just like in the story. Thank you for enriching my rainy-day reading... Lionel H. .... Farewell to a master of wordplay and design. You will be missed. -- Diane .... Edward Gorey died one day. And many folks came here to say. I looked for his works, and among all the pages, that everyone put up. I saw not one. Not one of his works.. Another Edward .... I'm an illustrator now: there's one specific reason, and now he's gone. I had hoped to possibly meet him in person one day, and instead will just have to comfort myself in his work. As a child, I watched MYSTERY! with my mother, and was always entranced with his illustrations. I vowed at the age of five or so to become proficient enough in art to draw in the same eerie, macabre way as my idol, Edward Gorey. Truth be told, no-one could ever draw or think like him, but I can at least draw now, thanks to the impetus which he afforded me. There will never be another Gorey, and I consider myself fortunate to have him and his body of work as a pinnacle to which I might aspire. Thank you, Edward. May your slumber be peaceful. -Elizabeth Witt T .... In 1993 I had the rare and privledged opportunity to direct the world premiere of Gorey's "Helpless Doorknobs." Though at the time I was only really a happenstance Gorey fan, this short play caught my attention. In so many ways it was as close to a visual image of Gorey's drawings on paper as one might get in real life. I tried to get permission to produce the play through the publisher, but to no avail, they'd gone out of business. On a whim I thought I'd call Edward Gorey up myself. I'd been doing a bit of research on his life and knew he was living in Yarmouthport, so I dialed information- half expecting the number to be unlisted. To my delight it wasn't and I was on my way. I left a brief message of my intention and hoped he'd call back. As blessedly dramatic as it sounds, on a dark and blizzardy mid-winter night I got a call back. Though I wasn't at home, my roommate tried to get in touch with me over the internet with an instant message (which back then was no where near what it is today...). I trudged home through knee deep snow to call Gorey back. I spoke with him in person and we chatted about my plans to produce the show. He was absolutely thrilled that someone was planning to produce it, no one had to date (which is why I think it was the "world premiere"). He gave me his permission and off I went. Not long after the production I sent him photographs and a program in hopes he would autograph it. About three weeks later I received in the mail the autographed program and a short note: "Thanks ever so for the program and photographs; it looks wonderful. I enclose a recent twiddly bit." The twiddly bit is a book by Garrod Weedy, publish by the Fantod Press. It is titled "The Pointless Book: Or, Nature & Art. In two volumes bound together." I could go on and on from here about all the other honors that Edward Gorey takes in our home. The short and sweet bit is that my husband and I prefer at times to be Embley and Yewbert. Thanks for the time, and I'll close with my favorite quote from Gorey: "When in doubt, twirl." Elee W Elee W and Erik P Embley and Yewbert, respectively .... Thoughtful Alphabet No. 3 -A Gorey Tribute" By Amy B Awdrey-Gore/Beastly Baby Creator, Deceased. -Eulogy For Gorey, Hapless Impresario. Jocular, Kooky Limericks...Mysteries... NINETY Ogdred Penned: Queer Rhymes; Sordid Tragedies. Untimely Valediction, Wryde! eXtemporaneously Yours, Zenobia .... End Part One