Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston on January 19th
1809, to David and Elizabeth Poe. He was an acclaimed author, poet, editor and
literary critic, and he was part of peak era of the American Romantic Movement
in the 1800’s. His genre’s were
generally mystery and macabre and was credited with inventing the genre of
detective fiction. He is also said to have had many influences on science
fiction, which was just emerging at that time. He has written several short
stories, such as ‘The Tell Tale Heart’ and ‘The Balloon Hoax’, and one of his
most famous poems ‘The Raven’, which gave a huge boost to his career due to its
success.
Poe’s mother, Elizabeth, died when he was at the age of two
after separating from his father. His brother was taken in by his grandparents
and his sister by another foster family, and Poe himself was taken in by Mr.
and Mrs. John Allan, though they never officially adopted him.
Poe went to England when he was 6 and studied there for five
years, within that time learning French and Latin. He came back to America and
later joined the University of Virginia, but he left after a semester due to
lack of money.
He joined the Army when he was 18 and attained the rank of Sergeant
Major, but later failed as a cadet at West Point. He parted ways with the
Allans, and in 1835, married his cousin Virginia Clemm.
Poe’s publishing career began very meagerly. He published
and anonymous collection of poems titled ‘Tamerlane and Other Poems’ in 1827,
and didn't even use his name, rather crediting it to ‘a Bostonian’. His poem ‘The
Raven’ published in 1845 gained him instant success, though his wife died two
years after its publication due to tuberculosis. Poe even planned to publish
his own journal ‘The Penn’ (later renamed to ‘The Stylus’), though he passed
away before it could be produced.
Poe died on 7th October, 1849, at the age of 40. The
exact cause of his death is unknown but has variously been attributed to alcohol,
brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, rabies, suicide, tuberculosis,
and other agents. The Edgar Award is given by the Mystery Writers of America
for distinguished works in the mystery genre.
