Edgar Allen Poe
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“For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it . . . Yet, mad am I not – and very surely do I not dream. But tomorrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my soul.” Thus the narrator begins to confess to murdering his wife in “The Black Cat”, just one of many fascinating creations from short story master and poet, Edgar Allan Poe.
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January, 19, 1809 in Boston, where his mother had been employed as an actress. Elizabeth Arnold Poe died in Richmond on December 8, 1811, and Edgar was taken into the family of John Allan, a member of the firm of Ellis and Allan, tobacco-merchants. After attending schools in England and Richmond, young Poe registered at the University of Virginia on February 14, 1826, the second session of the University. He lived in Room 13, West Range. He became an active member of the Jefferson Literary Society, and passed his courses with good grades at the end of the session in December. Mr. Allan failed to give him enough money for necessary expenses, and Poe made debts of which his so-called father did not approve. When Mr. Allan refused to let him return to the University, a quarrel ensued, and Poe was driven from the Allan home without money. Mr. Allan probably sent him a little money later, and Poe went to Boston. There he published a little volume of poetry, Tamerlane and Other Poems. It is such a rare book now that a single copy has sold for $200,000.00
In Boston on May 26, 1827, Poe enlisted in The United States Army as a private using the name Edgar A. Perry. After two years of service, during which he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant-major, he secured, with Mr. Allans aid, a discharge from the Army and went to Baltimore. He lived there with his aunt, Mrs. Maria Poe Clemm, on the small amounts of money sent by Mr. Allan until he received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
It was during his later years at West Point that he showed a remarkable talent for writing. Exploring themes as diverse as spirituality, astronomy, science and depravity, Poes writing is as powerful and arresting today as when he was first published. Poe published a second book of poetry in 1829: Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems. After another quarrel with Allan (who had married a second wife in 1830), Poe no longer received aid from his foster father. Poe then took the only method of release from the Academy, and got himself dismissed on March 6, 1831.
Soon after Poe left West Point, a third volume appeared: Poems by Edgar Allan Poe, Second Edition. While living in Baltimore with his aunt, Mrs. Clemm, young Poe began writing prose tales. Five of these appeared in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier in 1832.
As early as the age of 15, he wrote these words in memory of a female acquaintance, “The requiem for the loveliest dead that ever died so young.” Edgar Allan Poes first love was poetry, although he was unable to make a living at it early on, he was able to publish two small volumes during these early years. Poe became an assistant editor at the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond, Virginia; he held this position until January, 1837. In 1835 Poes literary talents started to blossom. It was at this time in his life that Poe fell in love with his 13-year-old cousin Virginia. Their marriage forced him to find a source of income. When the editor of the Messenger offered employment, Poe eagerly accepted.
During his tenure at the Messenger, Edgar Allan Poe was an editor as well as a contributor. In early 1836, Poe was credited with “between 80 and 90 reviews, six poems, four essays and three stories, not to mention editorials and commentaries.” Poe was to work for several publications as both editor and contributor. His career as an editor coincided with his growth as a writer. Poe lived in Philadelphia for six years from 1838-1844, and this period was his most prolific. He was an editor and critic for two major magazines Burtons Gentlemens Magazine and Grahams, and he published about 50 works. While working in Philadelphia for Burtons “Gentlemans Magazine” in 1839, Poes work continued to flourish. At this time in his career he still was not secure financially, but his work was being recognized and praised, which helped greatly in furthering his reputation. During his tenure at Burtons he wrote such macabre tales as “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “William Wilson”. Tales like these psychological thrillers were to become Poes trademark.
In 1841, Edgar Allan Poe began working for a man named George Graham, who