Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • National Poetry Month
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Poets and Poems: Meeting Edgar Allan Poe

By Glynn Young 3 Comments

A drunkard. A poet. An editor. A reporter. A military man. An orphan. A lecturer. The father of the detective novel. The Shakespeare of America. A slanderer and libeler. The husband of a 13-year-old bride.

And a writer. Above all, a writer.

Edgar_Allan_Poe_daguerreotype_cropWe associate Edgar Allan Poe with 19th century gothic. His stories – “Fall of the House of Usher, ” “Twice-Told Tales, ” “Masque of the Red Death, ” “Murders in the Rue Morgue, ” among many others – are full of mystery, passion, horror, violence, death, and the supernatural. And yet his poems, especially “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee, ” made him famous in pre-Civil War America and established his literary reputation.

Questions and mystery surrounded Poe’s own life and death, and continue even today – we may never know who left three roses and a bottle of cognac on his grave in Baltimore for decades until 2011 (alas, the “Poe Toaster” disappeared or died, to be seen nevermore).

Poe has often been the subject of biographers and literary criticism. Now we have a new one, Edgar Allan Poe: The Fever Called Living, by Paul Collins, associate professor of English at Portland State University. This is not an exhaustive biography (117 pages, including appendices), but it is compact, succinct, and covers the main events of Poe’s life along with his literary works. It’s a fine introduction to an iconic American writer.

The book is all of five chapters, covering Poe’s early life with his theatrical parents and the well-to-do foster family he landed with; how and why he began to write; his years as a reporter and editor; how “The Raven” established him as a literary light; the highs and lows of his career (more a series of rises and falls over his working life); and then an almost surprising decline just as he was finally coming into his own.

Along the way, we find Walt Whitman, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and others. Collins places Poe in his cultural and literary context, providing a window into the literature of the 19th century.

Poe Fever Called LivingCollins is the author of several literary studies, including Duel with the Devil: The True Story of How Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Teamed Up to Take On America’s First Sensational Murder Mystery; The Murder of the Century: The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City & Sparked the Tabloid Wars; The Book of William: How Shakespeare’s First Folio Conquered the World; and The Trouble with Tom: The Strange Afterlife and Times of Thomas Paine; among others. Duel with the Devil was a finalist for the Edgar Award of the Mystery Writers of America. He is also the author of a memoir, Not Even Wrong: A Father’s Journey into the Lost History of Autism.

The biography does not include the full texts of any of Poe’s poems, but it does account for how the major works came to be written (and often reprinted without paying the author; such was the state of copyright laws at the time). Here’s a poem by Poe that is representative of much of the poetry he wrote.

A Dream

In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed—
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.

Ah! what is not a dream by day
To him whose eyes are cast
On things around him with a ray
Turned back upon the past?

That holy dream—that holy dream,
While all the world were chiding,
Hath cheered me as a lovely beam
A lonely spirit guiding.

What though that light, thro’ storm and night,
So trembled from afar—
What could there be more purely bright
In Truth’s day-star?

Edgar Allan Poe: The Fever Called Living is an excellent introduction to a great American writer.

Related:

Paul Collins’ web site: The Literary Detective

Featured photo by Daniele Zedda, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Glynn Young, author of the novels Dancing Priest and A Light Shining, and Poetry at Work. 

Browse more poets and poems

Every Day Poems Driftwood

Want to brighten your morning coffee?

Subscribe to Every Day Poems and find some beauty in your inbox.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Glynn Young
Editor and Twitter-Party-Cool-Poem-Weaver at Tweetspeak Poetry
Glynn Young lives in St. Louis where he retired as the team leader for Online Strategy & Communications for a Fortune 500 company. Glynn writes poetry, short stories and fiction, and he loves to bike. He is the author of Poetry at Work and the Dancing Priest Series. Find Glynn at Faith, Fiction, Friends.
Glynn Young
Follow Glynn
Latest posts by Glynn Young (see all)
  • Poets and Poems: Marly Youmans and “Seren of the Wildwood” - March 28, 2023
  • Poets and Poems: Sydell Rosenberg & Amy Losak and “Wing Strokes Haiku” - March 21, 2023
  • Looking for the Poetry in Vermeer, a Blockbuster of an Art Exhibition - March 17, 2023

Filed Under: book reviews, Classic Poetry, Poems, poetry, poetry reviews

Get Every Day Poems...

Comments

  1. Marcy says

    August 26, 2014 at 7:49 pm

    Glynn Young,

    Just finished reading your article on Poe, this was the first time I realized he had a 13 year old bride. Mystery, everyone loves one and Poe had his share. You also bought up Nathaniel Hawthorne, seeing the House of Seven Gables was such an experience. The hidden upper room was so small and I don’t like close places. So once everyone saw it I raced up there and ran through and back down the stairs. They all laughed at me being in my thirties at the time. The poem you choose was lovely, “What though that light, thro’ storm and night, so trembled from afar. Very good Glynn, I enjoyed the dark moment and excellent read.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Poets and Poems: Meeting Edgar Allan Poe | Poet... says:
    August 26, 2014 at 10:30 am

    […] A new short biography of Edgar Allan Poe is an excellent introduction to an American literary icon.  […]

    Reply
  2. Why Teach Poetry? Interview with Colorado Poet Laureate Joseph Hutchison (Part 1) - says:
    October 29, 2014 at 8:01 am

    […] parents didn’t read for pleasure but they kept lots of books in the house, among them a volume of Edgar Allan Poe, [from which] I first read The Raven, Ligeia, and Annabel Lee—music of another […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our March Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Now a Graphic Novel!

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

meet The Yellow Wallpaper characters

Your Comments

  • L.L. Barkat on The Honey Field—6: Scars and All
  • Raymond Hattingh on “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” – An Old Poem, a New Artwork
  • L.L. Barkat on Poets and Poems: Marly Youmans and “Seren of the Wildwood”
  • Bethany on Poetry Prompt: Scribble a Poem for “Scribble Day”

How to Write Poetry

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • How to Write Form Poems-Infographics
  • • Poetry Club Tea Date
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT