READER_1- POE. Little Known Facts About Edgar Allan Poe; The Master Of Horror
Poe was a great author, poet,
editor, and literary critic. The
most common reference to this
amazing artist, however, is “The
Master of Horror“. Poe is even
regarded as the founder of a
specific literature genre called
detective fiction. His short
stories are popular especially on
Halloween when people retell
them at night. Poe, who died
exactly 165 years ago on
October 7, 1849, simply created
his own world, based on human
fears and spine-chilling terrors.
SOURCES
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lynn-cullen/11-things-you-didnt-know-_1_b_4059140.html
http://www.killadj.com/blog/2013/11/25/15-interesting-facts-edgar-allan-poe/
http://www.biography.com/news/edgar-allan-poe-death-facts
http://list25.com/25-little-known-facts-about-edgar-allan-poe-the-master-of-horror/
PAGE A __ What's in a name? __ E A POE
A. His masterpiece “The Raven“ made Poe a well-known author in the
USA almost overnight. Although one of the most popular poems in the
world, when Poe originally sold it (to The American Review in 1845)
they paid him $9 for it.
B. 2 FACTS. In 1827, Poe enlisted in the United States Army using the
false name "Edgar A. Perry". He claimed to be 22 years old even
though he was just 18.
Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe were pen friends and even met
once in Philadelphia when Poe was 34-year-old and Dickens was 31.
C. Interests. In 1826, Poe registered at the one-year-old University of
Virginia to study ancient and modern languages but since his foster
father didn’t send him enough money his debts; caused by his
gambling, increased and he gave up on the university after a year. Also,
Poe had a very keen interest in cryptography and tried to popularize
this field. Apart from literature, one of Poe´s favorite hobbies was space
and cosmology. His 1848 essay called “Eureka: A Prose Poem“
contained a theory that presaged the Big Bang theory by 80 years.
D. NAME. After his father left the family and his mother died a year later in
1811, young Poe was taken into the home of John Allan, a Scottish
merchant in Richmond, Virginia. The foster family gave him the name
"Edgar Allan Poe", but they never formally adopted him. Since the
name “Allan“ came from the foster father he didn't get along with, he
therefore signed documents with “Edgar A. Poe“, or “E. A. Poe“.
E. Poe´s death remains as mysterious as the author himself. On October
3, 1849, Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore in dire conditions
and died 4 days later in a hospital. All medical records, including his
death certificate, have been lost which has raised many suspicions
concerning his death; from heart disease, epilepsy, or cholera up to
suicide and even murder.
F.
Poe’s cousins hastily buried him the day after he died. An observer
recalled the ceremony as being both “cold-blooded” and
“unchristianlike.” Only seven people attended Poe’s funeral. Poe was
buried in an unmarked grave in his grandfather’s plot in Westminster
Burying Grounds in Baltimore.
PAGE B __ Looks and Money__ E A POE
1. He was a looker. Forget the images of baggy-eyed lunatic so
familiar to us all. They were taken in the year of his death, when he was
ill, never a good time for one’s close-up. His portraits from the time of
“The Raven” depict a dapper and handsome ladies’ man. Said one
admirer, “Gentleman was written all over him.” BUT In 1848 after his
wife’s death in 1847, Poe attempted to commit suicide by ingesting
opiates. Four days later, he sat to take this daguerreotype.
2. He was as athletic as he was handsome. Besides holding a
record for swimming six miles up the tidal James River in Virginia,
he enjoyed rowing around Turtle Bay in New York City and hiking
through the countryside. He was a champion long jumper,
bursting his only pair of shoes during a contest. He won.
3. He went from champ to chump within the space of a year. The
success of “The Raven” made him the toast of the New York literati in
February 1845. By February 1846, the same literary circles had shown
him the exit after they could no longer ignore his attachment to Frances
Osgood. Osgood saved her reputation by denying the relationship and
reuniting, even though pregnant, with her estranged husband. Poe, on
the other hand, sent her a valentine to be read at a party from which
he’d been banned. Not a good way to plead one’s innocence.
4. He couldn’t afford to pay the rent. He cleared around $400 in 1845, the
year of “The Raven”—a banner year for his wallet. Most years he made far
less, forcing him to constantly beg friends and family for “loans.” Living from
his writings proved har indeed. He even was given $1,500 the last week of
his life to start a magazine. However, in his life he was plagued by
international copycats where he had no protection that we have now with
international copyrights. In many ways, he paved the way for writers to be
compensated enough to have a career.
5. He had bad PR. The image of the hard-drinking drug addict that we
know today comes to us courtesy of Poe’s archrival, Rufus Griswold. In
reality, Poe’s strict work ethic allowed him little time to drink. The small
dose of an opiate that he took once for an illness made him so sick that
he swore it off for life. But destroying Poe’s reputation didn’t bring
Griswold happiness. He spent his final illness alone in a room hung with
three portraits: His own, Frances Osgood’s, and Poe’s.
PAGE C __ WRITING __ E A POE
I. A) Despite difficult times in American publishing, Poe was the first wellknown author to try to live by writing alone. Back then, publishers often
pirated copies of British works rather than paying for new works from
Americans.
I B) Written in 1841, his "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" short
story has been considered the first modern detective story. Mr.
Dupin, the fictional detective of the story, has served as a model for
many subsequent fictional detectives including Sherlock Holmes and
Hercule Poirot.
II. Poe used several smart techniques to intensify the horror effect of his
stories. One of them is “doubling” – when the same thing happens twice
or when characters closely mimic each other. An illustrative example is
in "The Fall of the House of Usher", wh
III. 12. He was early adopter of the genre of Science Fiction. In 1844,
he published “The Balloon” in Sun Newspaper. He described a
lighter than air balloon that transversed the Atlantic Ocean in three
days. The accounts were so believable that the newspaper had to
retract the story two days later. However untrue the story was, the
Sun newspaper made a ton of money off of newspapers, and they
did not give Poe a cent. From then on, Poe hated the Sun
newspaper.
IV. There are stories of children walking behind him on the street and
flapping their arms and cawing. He would play along by turning
suddenly and saying "Nevermore." (the last words of the poem)
V.
In one of the most bizarre turns in literary history, Poe’s aunt and
mother-in-law, Maria Clemm, made Griswold the executor of Poe’s
papers—a strange move, considering Griswold’s widely-published
malicious obituary of the man. Once his rival’s papers were in his
hands, Griswold set about doctoring Poe’s letters, spreading lies about
Poe’s behavior, and concocting a biography chockfull of inventive
slander—a biography which would stand alone for the next 25 years.