Classic Authors: Edgar Allan Poe
© Susan Jensen
Despite Edgar's unsavory background, he attended the best schools in the area. He also spent several years studying in England. Eventually, he was admitted to the University of Virginia, where he became an accomplished and popular student. He entertained his classmates with his stories - tales of the macabre - which held them spellbound. His foster father, however, was not impressed or amused. He refused to give Edgar the funds he needed to stay in school. Edgar subsequently turned to gambling to earn money; he was not lucky at cards, however, and he soon incurred a debt of over $2,000. Forced to drop out of school, Edgar then enlisted in the United States Army, where he served until his discharge in 1829. He later attended West Point, but had to leave because of lack of funds.
During his stint at the University of Virginia, Edgar published his first book of poetry, titled Tamerlane and Other Poems. The author was cited only as "A Bostonian." It received little attention. In the same year that he was discharged from the army, Edgar published his second collection of poems; the volume included the now famous "To Helen" and "Israfel." Despite these attempts, Edgar was not earning acclaim as a writer and was unable to support himself by his writing alone. He turned to editing for money, and proved his ability for literary criticism. However, he was fired from at least one post for drunkenness. It was not until the publication of "The Raven" in 1845 that Edgar Allan Poe's work became popular.
In 1836, Edgar married his cousin, who was barely 14 at the time. The couple and Edgar's aunt all lived together until their deaths. Virginia died in 1847 after a slow deterioration due to tuberculosis. Edgar never recovered from the pain of her death, and his own health subsequently declined. He died on October 7, 1849, from "acute congestion of the brain." His death, however, is shrouded in mystery; the true nature of his death remains unknown.
Edgar Allan Poe not only gave us haunting, macabre stories such as "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Tell Tale Heart," but poetry and literary criticism. Poe is also credited with creating several genres: science fiction, horror and detective fiction. Although his work has been ridiculed by such literary giants as T.S. Eliot and Henry James, he has been noted for his imagination and writing skill by others like George Bernard Shaw and William Carlos Williams.
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