The Ransom Center is encouraging the Austin community to read “The Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe” as part of The Big Read campaign, which kicks off today.

To generate interest in the work of Poe, the Ransom Center will unveil daily photos of various community figures, performers, and writers reading Poe’s works. At least one image will be revealed every weekday through the end of October on this blog.

The Cultural Compass recently spoke with Isaiah Sheffer, creator of NPR’s Selected Shorts, who hosts tonight’s program “Edgar Allan Poe: Poet and Storyteller,” which will be webcast live. He shares his thoughts on Edgar Allan Poe:

“If Edgar Allan Poe had never written a poem, he would still have been one of America’s greatest writers, thanks to his wonderful short stories, and the invention of the murder mystery genre in particular. If he had never written any of his colorful and often scary short stories, he would still have been one of America’s very greatest poets. In our program at the Harry Ransom Center we’re going to try to demonstrate both sides of this unique literary artist.”

Tonight’s program also features actors…