# Interview with Jack DeLand

Q: Mr. Deland, thank you for dropping by.

A: That’s DeLand.

Q: Excuse me?

A: My ancestors were from the department of Landes, in southwestern France, hence “des Landes.”

Q: Ah, then, some clerk at Ellis Island ...

A: No, we arrived near Plymouth in either 1630 or 1640, depending upon which records you trust. Ellis Island would have been the home of — deer?

Q: Mm. So your approach is that Poe is reachable only through the hoax works? What is this “real Poe” or “Truth about Poe” that you seek?