Poe Biography

Edgar Allan Poe Biography

There were many things that surprised me about the life and times of Edgar Allan Poe. He led a passionate and sometimes scandalous life of love that would be the foundation of his many stories and tales. Along with being a writer, he also worked as an editor for a number of magazines in several cities, including Richmond, Virginia; New York City; and Philadelphia. He unsuccessfully tried to found and edit his own magazine, which would have granted him financial security and artistic control in what he considered a hostile literary marketplace. He challenged the literary community of New England and made many enemies because he broke moralistic limits on literature with his biting critical style. Some readers too easily identified Poe with the mentally disturbed narrators of his tales, by Poe celebrated pure forms of beauty and opposed the didactic (a tendency to instruct or moralize) in poetry. These attitudes laid a foundation for later literary movements, notably symbolism. Poe was born in Boston, the son of traveling actors. His father deserted the family. After his mother died in 1811, Poe became a ward of John Allan, a wealthy Richmond merchant. The Allan family lived in the United Kingdom from 1815 to 1820 before returning to Richmond. In 1826, Poe enrolled at the University of Virginia. He had to drop out later due to a gambling debt he could not afford to pay. His first book was published in 1827 and three years later her entered West Point where he excelled in the study of languages. But he was expelled in 1831 for neglecting his duties. In 1836, Poe married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin and received his first editorial job at Richmond's the Messenger. Poe's later years were colored by economic hardship and ill health. On October 3, he was found semiconscious and delirious outside a tavern. The cause of his death four days later was listed as congestion of the brain, though the precise circumstances of his death have never been fully explained. He died very young at the age of 40.

Word Cited

World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. New York: World Book, Inc., 2003.