Thavonn Johnson
Paper #1 Edgar Allen Poe Born January 19, 1809 Edgar Allen Poe was an American author who was best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. He was the second child of English born actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and actor David Poe, Jr. His elder brother was named William Henry Leonard Poe and he had a younger sister named Rosalie Poe. Edgar’s tales of mystery and horror initiated the modern detective story. The atmosphere in his tales of horror is unrivaled in American fiction. His book The Raven (1845) Numbers with the best-known poems in national literature. In his early days of his life Edgar Allen Poe caught the imagination and interest of readers worldwide, his talents led to the beginning of different literary genres, this gave him the nickname aka ‘’Father of the Detective story. Him being the son of two actors Edgar Allen Poe never really knew his parents. His father vanished from the family early in his life and his mother died when he was the age of 3. Parted ways from his relatives Poe went on to live with Frances and John Allan. John Allan was a successful tobacco seller and the lived in Richmond, Virginia. He formed a great bond with Ms. Allan but never understood John Allan. John Allan also had problems funding Edgar’s education at the University of Virginia in 1826 so in order to make ends meet Poe would gamble the difference, with that option turning on him he went into debt. Around the time of Poe joining the army he published his first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems in 1827. He won a spot in 1830 to West Point which was a military academy. Although he excelled at his studies at West Point he was dismissed only after a year of joining because of his poor handling of duties. Some folks say he wanted to be court-martialed. When Poe left the academy he focused on writing full time. He moved frequently living in cities like Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia and Richmond. In the early 1830’s he stayed with his aunt in Baltimore. In 1835 Poe returned to Richmond where he went to work for Southern Literary Messenger a magazine company. He was called a cut-throat critic for his vicious reviews on his contemporaries, He also published some of his own works in this magazine company this included two parts of the only novel he has The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. He held that job shortly before deciding to leave in 1837 some say he had alcohol problem which was a reason for why he left. He also was a part of magazine companies, Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine and The Broadway Journal. In the late 1830’s Poe published Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque it was a collection of stories. It contained some of his finest works “Ligeia,” ‘’The Fall of the House of Usher’’ and “William Wilson.” On the rise as an author he achieved a literary prize in 1843 for “The Gold Bug”. He became a sensation in 1845 with his publication of ‘’The Raven” a poem. It is regarded as one of if not the greatest American literary work and the best of his long writing career. Poe faced criticism from his rival poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Poe stated that Longfellow was a plagiarist, this assault that was written made backlash for Poe. Poe lost is beloved Virginia in 1874 which led him to suffer financially and his health was declining, he left the city of Richmond in 1849 and was thought to be on his way to Philadelphia but was later found in Baltimore in poor condition and was pronounced dead cause of death “congestion of the brain”. There are many theories about how died but it all remains a mystery. After his death his image was destroyed by his literary adversary Rufus Griswold. Griswold made Poe look as if he was a deranged drunkard and womanizer. Although Poe Financially wasn’t wealthy he has become one of the most successful American writers he created poems that will keep generations to come on their heels.

Edgar Allan Poe. (2014). The Biography.com Website Retrieved 09:40, Dec 21, 2014