Saint Melissa the Mottled

Saint Melissa was canonized not for her performance of healing miracles and martyrdom, but despite (or because of?) her Miracles of Destruction-rough-and-tumble hijinks and dabbles in the supernatural. Instead of the skills proper young ladies studied, Saint Melissa was adept at the bringing on of migraines, the refinement of lust, and the involutions of penmanship and calligrams. And as Gorey wrote, "letters she wrote are still to be delivered, traps she set are still to be sprung, pronouncements she devised are still to be promulgated, objects she hid are still to be found."

Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000), a truly prodigious and original artist, gave to the world more than one hundred works, including The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Doubtful Guest, and The Wuggly Ump; prize-winning set and costume designs for theater productions from Cape Cod to Broadway; and a remarkable number of illustrations in publications such as the New Yorker and the New York Times. Gorey's masterful pen-and-ink illustrations and his ironic, offbeat humor have brought him critical acclaim and an avid following throughout the world.