Portal:Edgar Allan Poe
The Edgar Allan Poe Portal  Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, literary critic, and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the early American practitioners of the short story and a progenitor of detective fiction and crime fiction. He is also credited with contributing to the emergent science fiction genre. Poe's legacy includes a significant influence in literature in the United States and around the world as well as in specialized fields like cosmology and cryptography. Additionally, Poe and his works appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, television, video games, etc. Some of his past homes are dedicated as museums today. Selected article
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" introduced detective fiction to the world. Published in Graham's Magazine in April 1841, the story's protagonist C. Auguste Dupin established many elements that became common in later fictional detectives. In fact, Dupin and "The Rue Morgue" heavily influenced Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" features the gruesome and mysterious murder of two women in Paris in a room that is securely locked from the inside. After a suspect is arrested without evidence, Dupin decides to look into the crime. His only clues are the odd accounts of the language overheard by witnesses in the area and a strange hair which, he believes, is not from a human. Selected picture This plaque at the end of Carver St. in Boston, Massachusetts commemorates the birthplace of Edgar Poe, somewhere near here. Poe was born on January 19, 1809, though the exact location is uncertain. This plaque hangs next to a luggage store. Other selected pictures Selected biography Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 - October 7, 1849) was a literary critic, poet, and short story writer, known for his horror fiction and as the inventor of detective fiction. Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1809, Poe was orphaned by age 3. He was taken in by the wealthy Allan family in Richmond, Virginia. After brief attempts at university studies and a military career, Poe embarked on literary pursuits, despite poor reception of his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems. Over his twenty years of publishing, he worked in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, earning a reputation as a harsh critic. His short stories and poems often focused on themes of death and mourning, sometimes comically. His most successful works during his lifetime were "The Gold-Bug" and "The Raven". Distraught by the death of his wife Virginia in 1847, Poe produced what he considered his "masterpiece" in 1848: Eureka: A Prose Poem. In the lengthy work, Poe attempted to explain his intuitive theory on the origin of the universe and man's relationship to God. Poe died in Baltimore in 1849 under mysterious circumstances. The cause of his death is not known with certainty, though theories include cooping, suicide, cholera, and many others. The story of Poe's life and his works remain influential on popular culture, films, television, and in music. Did you know...?
Did you know ...that Thomas Holley Chivers, who became an early biographer and defender of Edgar Allan Poe, was once asked by Poe to be a financial backer and co-editor of The Stylus, a journal that Poe intended to launch? Did you know ...the short story A Predicament and the poem "Bridal Ballad" are the only works by Poe that have a woman as the narrator? Did you know ...that the earliest film version of Poe's life was a silent film called The Raven in 1915 starring Henry B. Walthall? Selected anniversaries - January1840: Four installments of The Journal of Julius Rodman are released in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine; the novel will never be completed. January 1 – "Edgar Perry" (the false name Poe used during his short military career) is promoted to Sergeant Major of artillery in 1829 while enlisted in the United States Army. It is the highest rank attainable by an enlisted man. January 3 – In 1846, Edgar Allan Poe produced the final issue of the Broadway Journal in New York City. It was the only literary journal he actually owned, though his full ownership lasted only about four months. January 6 – In 1832, French illustrator Gustave Doré is born. His last published work will be 26 engravings illustrating Poe's poem "The Raven." January 7 – Poe is baptized as Episcopalian in 1812 by Reverend John Buchanan with the name "Edgar Allan Poe" with John and Frances Allan taking the role of Godparents. January 14 – The first known short story published by Edgar Allan Poe is in the Saturday Courier on January 14, 1832. The story, "Metzengerstein," depicts a vengeful horse putting to end a long-standing family rivalry. January 18 – George Rex Graham is born in 1813. At age 27, Graham would start Graham's Magazine and, in 1841, Poe is hired as an editor. Though Graham and Poe had a relatively friendly relationship, Poe left the magazine just over a year later. January 19 – Edgar Poe is born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1809 to traveling actors Eliza Arnold Poe (who had received rave reviews for her performances) and David Poe, Jr. (who consistently received less than stellar reviews).  January 20 – Nathaniel Parker Willis (pictured) is born on this date in 1806 and dies on the same day in 1867. The good-natured Willis would be the first to publish "The Raven" and often asked Poe to be less severe in his literary critiques. January 23 – Gustave Doré dies on this day in 1883. Doré, a well-known French illustrator, his last work, published a year after his death in London, is a series of 26 steel engravings of Poe’s "The Raven." January 29 – One of Poe’s most well-known poems, "The Raven," is first published in 1845 in the New York Evening Mirror. An instant success, the refrain of "nevermore" and the opening line "Once upon a midnight dreary" have now become common knowledge. January 30 – Poe’s young wife Virginia Clemm Poe dies after a lengthy battle with tuberculosis in 1847 while the family was living in the Bronx, New York. In 1875, her body was reburied in Baltimore next to her husband. QuotesHow dreadful is the present condition of our Literature! To what are things heading? We want... a well-founded Monthly Journal, of sufficient ability, circulation and character, to control, and to give tone to, our Letters. It should be, externally, a specimen of high, but not too refined Taste:-I mean, it should be boldly printed, on excellent paper, in single column, and be illustrated, not merely embellished, by spirited wood designs in the style of Grandville. Its chief aims should be Independence, Truth, Originality. It should be a journal of some 120 pp. and furnished at $5. It should have nothing to do with Agents or Agencies. Such a Magazine might be made to exercise a prodigious influence, and would be a source of wealth to its proprietors. ...letter from Poe to James Russell Lowell, dated March 30, 1844, outlining his plans for The Stylus Related informationContributors & Readers
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TopicsPoe Topics: Edgar Allan Poe Other People: Hervey Allen • Anne Lynch Botta • Charles Frederick Briggs • Nathan C. Brooks • William Evans Burton • George William Childs • Thomas Holley Chivers Select Poe-Related Media: American Review: A Whig Journal • Baltimore Saturday Visiter • "The Black Cat (Masters of Horror episode)" • Broadway Journal • Burton's Gentleman's Magazine • Closed on Account of Rabies • Castle of Blood • The Death of Poe (film) • An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe • Godey's Lady's Book • Graham's Magazine • The Grave Digger • House of Usher (film) • The Last Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe: The Troy Dossier • The Man with a Cloak • Maniac (1934 film) • Murders in the Rue Morgue (film) • New York Mirror • The Oblong Box • The Pit and the Pendulum (1961 film) Other Stuff: Edgar Allan Poe Cottage • Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum • Edgar Allan Poe Museum (Richmond) • Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site • The Imp of the Perverse • Westminster Hall and Burying Ground Works: Eureka: A Prose Poem |
