Edgar Allan Poe came by to see me. Actually I think he came by to have a bit of my hootch. AS you can see he got nice and close to my jug.
You may not know it but Edgar and I have a lot in common.
First, we are both Eds. (And I guess that counts for something.)
Next we are both American originals.
I won't go into all my history. That will come out later as I start uploading my story.
But good ol' Ed Poe. Now here is a REALLY famous guy.
Let's start with the biggie: He is the only American write to create a new form of literature.
Think about that while you read Ed's biography.Edgar Allan Poe was born on this date in 1809 in Boston. (That's right, just two more years and we can celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth.)
While famous to many high school students for his tales of terror such as "The Pit and The Pendulum" and "The Mask of the Red Death," Poe was famous is his time as a poet.
He was orphaned at the age of three and handed off to his godfather, John Allan in Richmond, VA. Allan never adopted Poe but Poe did take his godfather's surname.
Poe attended
school in England and later the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, VA. (BTW, this is the school created and designed by Thomas Jefferson. And the school has preserved his room for all to see. See left.) After less than a year Poe's debts and the unwillingness of Allan to help him out, Poe was bounced from UVA. Poe went to West Point and again got tossed out. This time because he ran out of money -- Allan had cut him off -- and because he broke some of the Army academy's rules, he got tossed out of that school.In a kind of creepy move he married his 13-year old cousin Virginia Clemm while working in Richmond as an editor.
He lost that job because of drinking. (Now do you know why I think he came by to visit my jug and not me?)
He and his wife moved to Philadelphia and wrote many of his most famous short stories including "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Tell-Tale Heart."
Around this time is when he created a new form of literature. Here is the clue to the genre he created: the stories were "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "The Purloined Letter."
After a move to New York Poe hit the big time with his famous poem "The Raven."
The death of his wife in 1847 led Poe to drink even more as well as experimenting with drugs.
In 1849 he returned to Richmond and began to straighten out his act. He was getting ready to marry an old flame. He went to New York to settle some old business and on his way back to Richmond stopped off in Baltimore. While in "Charm City" he had a bit too much to drink at a party. (Some reports include that he was also doped up.) Three days after the party he was found face down in a gutter in a delirium.
He died October 7, 1849 in a Baltimore hospital having never recovered. He was 40 years old. His last poem, "Annabell Lee" was published after his death and is considered by many academics as one of his best love poems.
His grave site in Baltimore is visited each year for his birthday and the anniversary of his death. I understand that once again this year a caped figure came to the grave site and left a rose and bottle of cognac.
So, have you figured out what literature genre Poe created?
Fifty years before Sherlock Holmes Poe created the detective story. In the first Holmes story, Arthur Conan Doyle had to give a nod to the Poe creation C. Auguste Dupin, a private investigator who used logic to solve crimes.
It was in the third and last of the Dupin stories, "The Purloined Letter," that the phrase "hiding something in plain sight" became popular.
In honor of Poe's contribution to literautre, the award for the best mystery novel is called an "Edgar."
One last thing, read the short story "The Gold Bug." It is not about horror or death but rather about cryptology and pirate treasure. A real fun short read.
A few more things about POE at the following web sites:
- Read more about Poe at http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/poe/.
- Visit the Poe Society in Baltimore.
- "Knowing Poe" from Maryland Public Broadcasting. (A great site.)
- The Poe Museum in Richmond. (This is a fun site. While in Richmond you can also visit the same church where Patrick Henry gave his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech. Poe's mother is buried in that churchyard.)
- The Raven Society at the University of Virginia
- And lastly, visit the Poe house in Philidaelphia. The place is run by the National Park Service.
1 comment:
Sorry to reply to an old post but I had to point out a few inaccuracies. You write:
"The death of his wife in 1847 led Poe to drink even more as well as experimenting with drugs."
It is now known that Poe was not a drug addict, nor was he ever a recreational drug user. "Experimenting with drugs" is, therefore, wrong. You also wrote:
"While in "Charm City" he had a bit too much to drink at a party. (Some reports include that he was also doped up.) Three days after the party he was found face down in a gutter in a delirium."
Poe's death has never been solved and the six days before he was found on October 3 are a complete blank period. I have never in my studies of Poe heard of this "party," never mind one where he was "doped up." Years later, Poe's attending physician at the hospital (Dr. John J. Moran) told Poe detractors that there was no evidence of alcohol.
Truth be told, Poe's drinking has been greatly exaggerated, and his drug use made up out of thin air. Look up Rufus Wilmot Griswold to learn how the "Poe mythos" was created.
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