Review - A Toast to Edgar Allan Poe

A Toast to Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

·         As much as he was a part of American literature as a whole, he was one of the first to be known also for his short stories. 

·         As far as his life and career, he was one of the first well-known American writers to earn a living through writing.

·         Poe was born in Boston, Ma.  His father left his family when he was only a year old and his mother died a year later from tuberculosis.

·         John and Frances Allen took him in and raised him as their own.  They never formally adopted him but gave him their name.

·         Poe attended the University of Virginia in 1826 to study ancient and modern languages.  The university was just a year old and Poe left after only one year.  He began doing odd jobs and writing for a newspaper.  He used the pseudonym, Henri Le Rennet.

·         His odd jobs were not lucrative, so Poe enlisted in the Army in 1827 under an assumed name, Edgar A. Perry.  He was only 18 but claimed to be 22. 

·         During this time, he began his writing career.  His first collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), was published anonymously as “A Bostonian”.  There were only 40 pages to the book and only 50 copies were printed. 

·         After his second year in the Army, he had attained the rank of Sergeant Major.  He wanted to end his enlistment early and thus revealed his real name to his commanding officer.  He was subsequently discharged in order to receive an appointment to West Point Military Academy.

·         Before entering West Point, he went home to Baltimore and reunited with family members, including his brother Henry, his widowed aunt Maria Clemm, and her daughter, Virginia Clemm.  He published his second book, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems, in 1829. 

·         Poe entered West Point and less than a year later was ready to leave.  He decided to be kicked out and in 1831, he was tried for “gross neglect of duty and disobedience of orders for refusing to attend formations, classes or church.”  He was found guilty.

·         After failing at West Point in his ranks as a cadet, he decided to become a full time poet and writer.  He released a third book of poems entitled Poems. 

·         He first became a literary critic working for literary journals and periodicals.  His style of criticism immediately set him apart from others.  During this time, he began work on his only drama, Politian. 

·         In 1833, the Baltimore Saturday Visitor awarded him with a prize for his short story, MS. Found in a Bottle. 

·         Poe became assistant editor of the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond, but was fired after a few weeks for being drunk at work.

·         In 1835 at the age of 26, he secretly married his 13-year old cousin, Virginia Clemm.  She was listed as 21 on the marriage certificate.

·         He returned to Richmond and begged for his job back at the Messenger.  He remained there until 1837, where its circulation grew from 700 to 3,500. 

·         In 1839, he became the assistant editor of Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine and enhanced his reputation as a critic.  During this time, his collection, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, was published in two volumes and had mixed reviews.

·         In 1845 at the age of 36, he published The Raven, which had instant success and made him a household name.  He was paid $9.00 for its publication.

·         Virginia died two years later of tuberculosis.  His frequent theme of “death of a beautiful woman” throughout his writings may have come from the loss of so many women in his life:  his mother, his foster mother, his wife.  After her death, his drinking increased.

·         In 1849 at the age of 40, Poe died in Baltimore of an unknown cause.  Many have speculated over the years of what could have contributed to his death, such as alcohol, drugs, heart disease, suicide, cholera, or grief.  He had been found on the streets in dire need of medical attention and died four days later. 

·         Adding to the mystery of how he became so ill, why he was in the streets, and why he was wearing someone else’s clothing when found, an unknown visitor began to pay homage at his grave beginning in 1949 on the anniversary of his death.  At his grave marker was left a toast of cognac and three roses.  This tradition is now protected by the members of the Edgar Allan Poe Society as the “Poe Toaster”. 

·         Even after such a short life and career, his writings influenced literature around the world.