DELIGHTFUL SATURDAYS WITH MY FAVORITE AUTHORS AND POETS (21)

EDGAR ALLAN POE

Image and Information courtesy (Wikipedia)

Edgar Allan Poe,one of the greatest literary figures in American Literature, was born on January 19, 1809 at Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. He was well known as a writer, poet, editor, and a literary critic. But poems and short stories of mysterious and macabre nature were his specialities.

His parents were the actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and actor David Poe Jr. He was their second child. His siblings were William Henry Leonard Poe, his elder brother, and a younger sister named Rosalie Poe. He had a rough childhood after his father abandoned his family in 1810 and his mother died the following year. John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia took care of him, though they never formally adopted him.

He joined The University of Virginia but quit his studies after a year due to lack of funds. He had a major argument with The Allans over money for his education and gambling debts. He later enlisted in the United States Army in 1827, and published his first collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems. His foster mother, Frances, died in 1829 and he shared a temporary rapprochement with Allan. Poe parted ways with Allan after his career as as an officer cadet failed at West Point.

He married, Virginia Clemm, his thirteen-year-old cousin in 1836 and she succumbed to Tuberculosis in 1847. His poem, ‘ The Raven’ was published in January 1845 and became immensely popular. He wanted to produce a journal called The Penn, ( renamed as Stylus) but unfortunately it could not happen because of his death at the age of just 40, on October 7, 1849. His death still remains a mystery.

Poe and his works have inspired many in the field of literature and also from the specialized fields of cosmology and cryptography. His works are so popular even today that they have been adapted into music, films, and television. There’s an award instituted in his name, Edgar award, by the The Mystery Writers of America for distinguished work in the mystery genre.

His popular work.

Poems

1824 Poetry

1825? O, Tempora! O, Mores!

1827 A Dream

1827 Evening Star

1827 The Happiest Day

1827 Imitation

1827 The Lake

1827 Song

1827 Spirits of the Dead

1827 Stanzas

1827 Tamerlane

1827 To Margaret

1827 To Octavia

1828 To M——

1828 To The River ——

1829 An Acrostic

1829 Al Aaraaf

1829 Alone

1829 Elizabeth

1829 Fairy-Land

1829 Romance

1829 Sonnet — To Science

1829 To ——

1829 To —— ——

1829 To Isaac Lea

1831 The City in the Sea

1831 Israfel

1831 A Pæan

1831 The Sleeper

1831 To Helen

1831 The Valley of Unrest

1833 The Coliseum

1833 Enigma

1833 Fanny

1833 Serenade

1833 To ——

1833 To One in Paradise

1835 Hymn

1836 Spiritual Song

1837 Bridal Ballad

1837 Sonnet — To Zante

1839 The Haunted Palace

1839 Silence

1843 The Conqueror Worm

1843 Eulalie

1843 Lenore

1844 Dream-Land

1845 The Divine Right of Kings

1845 Epigram for Wall Street

1845 Impromptu. To Kate Carol

1845 The Raven

1845 To F——

1846 A Valentine

1847 Beloved Physician

1847 Deep in Earth

1847 To M. L. S——

1847 To Marie Louise

1847 To Miss Louise Olivia Hunter

1847 Ulalume

1848 The Bells

1848 Eldorado

1848 An Enigma

1848 Evangeline

1848 Lines on Ale

1848 To Helen

1849 Annabel Lee

1849 A Dream Within A Dream

1849 For Annie

1849 To My Mother

Short stories

“The Black Cat“

“The Cask of Amontillado“

“A Descent into the Maelström“

“The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar“

“The Fall of the House of Usher“

“The Gold-Bug“

“Hop-Frog“

“The Imp of the Perverse“

“Ligeia“

“The Masque of the Red Death“

“Morella“

“The Murders in the Rue Morgue“

“Never Bet the Devil Your Head“

“The Oval Portrait“

“The Pit and the Pendulum“

“The Premature Burial“

“The Purloined Letter“

“The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether“

“The Tell-Tale Heart“

“Loss of Breath“

Other popular works

Politian (1835) – Poe’s only play

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) – Poe’s only complete novel

The Journal of Julius Rodman (1840) – Poe’s second, unfinished novel

“The Balloon-Hoax” (1844) – A journalistic hoax printed as a true story

“The Philosophy of Composition” (1846) – Essay

Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848) – Essay

“The Poetic Principle” (1848) – Essay

“The Light-House” (1849) – Poe’s last, incomplete work

Novels

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (First two installments, January/February 1837 – Southern Literary Messenger, issued as complete novel in July 1838)

The Journal of Julius Rodman (First six installments, January–June 1840 – Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine) – Incomplete

His poem ( Poets.org)

To My Mother

Edgar Allan Poe

Because I feel that, in the Heavens above,

The angels, whispering to one another,

Can find, among their burning terms of love,

None so devotional as that of “Mother,”

Therefore by that dear name I long have called you—

You who are more than mother unto me,

And fill my heart of hearts, where Death installed you

In setting my Virginia’s spirit free.

My mother—my own mother, who died early,

Was but the mother of myself;

but you Are mother to the one I loved so dearly,

And thus are dearer than the mother

I knew

By that infinity with which my wife

Was dearer to my soul than its soul-life.

Thank you so much for taking your precious time to visit my website. Hope you enjoyed reading my blogs. 😊😊