Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe né Edgar Poe January 19 1809 October 7 1849 was an American writer poet editor and literary critic best known for his poetry and short stories particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre He is widely regarded as one of the central figures of Romanticism and Gothic fiction in the United States and early American literature Poe was one of the countrys first successful short story practitioners and is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre In addition he is credited with contributing significantly to the emergence of science fiction He is the first wellknown American writer to earn a living by writing alone which resulted in a financially difficult life and career Poe was born in Boston He was the second child of actors David and Elizabeth Eliza Poe His father abandoned the family in 1810 and when Eliza died the following year Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond Virginia They never formally adopted him but he lived with them well into young adulthood Poe attended the University of Virginia but left after only a year due to a lack of money He frequently quarrelled with John Allan over the funds needed to continue his education as well as his gambling debts In 1827 having enlisted in the United States Army under the assumed name of Edgar A Perry he published his first collection Tamerlane and Other Poems which was credited only to a Bostonian Poe and Allan reached a temporary rapprochement after the death of Allans wife Frances in 1829 However Poe later failed as an officer cadet at West Point declared his intention to become a writer primarily of poems and parted ways with Allan Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals becoming known for his style of literary criticism His work forced him to move between several cities including Baltimore Philadelphia and New York City In 1836 when he was 27 he married his 13yearold cousin Virginia Clemm She died of tuberculosis in 1847 In January 1845 he published his poem The Raven to instant success He planned for years to produce his journal The Penn later renamed The Stylus But before it began publishing Poe died in Baltimore in 1849 aged 40 under mysterious circumstances The cause of his death remains unknown and has been attributed to many causes including disease alcoholism substance abuse and suicide Poes works influenced the development of literature worldwide and even impacted such specialized fields as cosmology and cryptography Since his death he and his writings have appeared throughout popular culture in art photography literary allusions music motion pictures and television Several of his homes are dedicated museums In addition The Mystery Writers of America presents an annual Edgar Award for distinguished work in the mystery genre Description above from the Wikipedia article Edgar Allan Poe licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia