Wed. Feb. 9 - Sat. June 4 

 Edward Gorey was one of ours, literally and figuratively. The dryly macabre writer and illustrator came to fame in New York, but lived out his final years on Cape Cod, where, in Yarmouth you many find the Edward Gorey Museum. His work delighted (and perhaps distrubed) many.  In 2004, the late, lamented Boston dance company Snappy Dance did a fantastic ballet, "The Temperamental Wobble," based upon Gorey's "A Gorey Demise." ("A is for Amanda who drowned in a pool/B is for Billy who was eaten by ghouls" ... 26 characters, 26 deaths.)
Gorey, who left this mortal coil in 2000 at 75 penning more than 100 books, was a morbid sort, with gallows humor cutting through much of his work. Carnivorous plants, falling masonry, and uninvited guests fill the imaginary world of Gorey. His stories and accompanying illustrations maintain a delicate balance between the hilarious and the horrific. We first saw his work in the The New Yorker as a kid (our dad subscribed). His most famous creation, of course, was "The Addams Family" and his illustrations for the PBS series "Mystery." He was also a big cat lover and owned more than a few, yet another endearing quality in the JSInk world. Gorey told my pal and former Globe colleague Richard Dyer, "Ideally, if anything [was] any good, it would be indescribable." Gorey called his work "literary nonsense," the genre made most famous by Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear.

From Wed. Feb. 9 to Sat. June 4, The Boston Athenæum presents “Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey.” Gorey’s voracious consumption of literature, his love of the ballet, and his offbeat and wry view of the world resulted in a sardonic and witty oeuvre. This exhibition explores the diversity of Gorey’s art through original pen and ink illustrations, preparatory sketches, unpublished drawings, and ephemera. Drawn from the holdings of the Gorey Charitable Trust, the exhibition includes approximately 180 objects, including selections from "The Gashlycrumb Tinies," "The Unstrung Harp," "The Gilded Bat," and other well-known

Gorey publications.  Gallery hours are Mondays and Wednesdays 9 a.m. – 8 p.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., and Saturdays 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. A donation is welcome ($5) recommended.

10 1/2 Beacon St., 617-227-0270 www.bostonathenaeum.org.