The World Marks the 100th Anniversary of Bram Stokers Death with Tributes Both Serious and Silly
Above: Irish novelist Bram Stoker, ca. 1906.
Photographer unknown. Public Domain photo.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Irish author Abraham “Bram” Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) will be remembered today (April 20, 2012), the centenary of his death, in ways both bookish and bizarre.
Best known for his gothic novel Dracula, Bram Stoker has launched many a gone goth-girl with a serious vitamin D deficiency into blood-rapture reveries.
Serious fans of Irish and Victorian literature, however, deliberately disregard Dracula, the black fingernail polish, the plastic fangs and the puns that bite. They are using this day to draw attention to Stoker’s other literary works: dozens of novels and short stories well worth reading (a list may be found below).
Dacre Stoker and other members of the author’s family are also using this centenary year to draw attention to the history of the real Bram Stoker, a dignified Irishman who attended Trinity College, Dublin, married a former sweetheart of Oscar Wilde, worked for more than 27 years as manager of the Lyceum Theatre, London, and toiled tirelessly as a theatre critic for the London Daily Telegraph.
A short sampling of the celebrations that are taking place may be found below.
Celebrations Worldwide
“Dark Shadows” a new vampire film directed by Tim Burton, starring Johnny Depp, and based on the 1960s TV series of the same name, will be released on May 11, 2012. It isn’t exactly a Bram Stoker celebration, but close enough!
Celebrations in Ireland
Dublin Painting and Sketching Club, Bram Stoker Centenary Celebration, Bram’s Café, Dublin, 15 to 30 April 2012
While attending university at Trinity College, Bram Stoker became a member of the Dublin Painting and Sketching Club. Proud of his participation, the university and local artists have mounted their 134th Exhibition at Bram’s Café. The exhibition will feature an original portrait of Stoker which may be seen on the web here:
Bram Stoker Centenary Conference, Department of English, Trinity College, Dublin, 5 and 6 July 2012.
Bram Stoker actually majored in mathematics and philosophy, but the Department of English at Trinity College have forgiven him. They’ve decided to honor one of the university’s more famous alumni with a special conference and discussion of his literary works.
Bram Stoker’s Lost Journal to Be Published. An Illustrated Presentation by Elizabeth Miller and Dacre Stoker, Saturday 7 July 2012, National Library, Dublin. See here for the London Daily Mail’s 1 November 2011 article on the discovery of Bram Stoker’s journal:
Halloween Celebration, Stoker Dracula Organization, Clontarf, Dublin, 31 October 2012
We bid you welcome. Okay, here’s the silly bit. The Irish aren’t all that serious about Bram Stoker’s literary work, and they certainly plan to dress like vampires and party down in Clontarf, the town where Stoker grew up.
Celebrations in England
Stoker Family Gathering, London, 19-20 April 2012. The events include a visit to Golder’s Green, the neighborhood in London where Bram Stoker’s ashes are kept. Actual location is a bit of a secret, to protect his remains from the whack jobs out there (the ones who aren’t as well-behaved as normal vampires, that is).
“Open Graves, Open Minds.” Stoker Centenary Symposium, University of Hertsfordshire, Keats House, Hampshire
Celebrations in America
From March 29 to April 1, 2012, the Horror Writers’ Association held their World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, UT, and announced the winner of their “Bram Stoker Award” at a special March 31 banquet. The winners were: Rick Hautala and Joe Lansdale.
“Vamps at Sea” 2012 Vampire Cruise with Dacre Stoker. SS Zuiderdam, Holland America Line, sailing from Vancouver, BC to Ketchikan, Alaska, June 23, 30, 2012.
“Indulge your ultimate Fangtasy,” says the website. Seriously? Vampires? In Alaska? In June? Yup. Dacre Stoker, a great-nephew of Bram, is a Canadian citizen. This is a hometown gig for him. Also, the Alaskans are under the very real impression that their pale and tender throats, white as the virgin snow, offer much to be desired by vampire fans. The cruise certainly suggests an exotic realm of literature, seldom explored: Early 21st Century Alaskan gothic fiction.
Sources
Bram Stoker Society
Elizabeth Miller – Bram Stoker Centenary
Official Website for the Bram Stoker Estate http://bramstokerestate.com/Bram_Stoker_Estate/Centennial_Events.html
Wikipedia Biography
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