Happy Birthday, Edgar Allan Poe! January 19 marked the birthdate of the American author, poet, critic, and master of the gothic horror genre. Even though his birthday was this past Tuesday, we can never get enough of the man who not only pioneered the detective fiction genre and popularized the concept of short stories, but made ravens shorthand for "Something spooky's going on." Before his mysterious death in Baltimore and massive posthumous success, there were many experiences in his life that inspired his macabre writing style. In honor of his 207th birthday, here are 10 quotes from the man himself that tell the interesting story of his life.
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and David Poe, Jr., both actors. After his father abandoned the family in 1810 and his mother died from tuberculosis the following year, Poe was taken in by John Allan and his family in Richmond, Virginia. Poe began a brief stint in the military in 1827. While serving in the Army, Poe published a book of poems called Tamerlane and Other Poems, but it received no attention from critics. However, after purposefully getting court-martialed to leave the military in 1831, Poe began to seriously pursue a writing career. Poe’s writing career got off to a rough start. As many employers did not pay writers for their services due to an oversaturation of American periodicals at the time, Poe often struggled to make ends meet. By 1833, Poe began publishing a few of his short stories in Philadelphia publications and even won a prize for his short story, MS. Found in a Bottle. Poe also married his 13- year-old cousin, Virginia Clemm, in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 22, 1835. In 1842, Poe’s wife fell ill with tuberculosis. Unable to deal with the stress, Poe began to drink and alienated himself from fellow writers and colleagues. Despite his personal troubles, Poe’s poem, The Raven, was published in The Evening Standard and became a national sensation. For the first time in his career, Poe became a household name. On January 30, 1847, Virginia Poe finally died from tuberculosis at the couple's home in New York. By this point in his life, Poe had lost his biological mother, his foster parents, and his wife. Due to the deaths that he had experienced, Poe focused using on using death and horror themes in his work.After the death of his wife, Poe's alcoholism got worse and he displayed signs of mental illness.Poe died mysteriously on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland on October 3, 1849. He was in distress and allegedly called out the name “Reynolds” repeatedly before his death. Poe’s death certificate was lost, so the cause of his death remains a mystery to this day. Visit the NEA Big Read website for more on Poe.
Sources:
1. "Alone"
2.Letter to Frederick W. Thomas, 1849
3. Letter to Frederick W. Thomas, 1845
4. "Annabel Lee"
5. "Eleonora"
6. "The Raven"
7. "Deep in Earth"
8. "The Philosophy of Composition"
9. Letter to a fan, 1848
10."Mesmeric Revelation"
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