The Creative Life of Edgar Allan Poe

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The Creative Life of Edgar Allan Poe

Lexie Rivers

Agr137

EPY 4553: Creative Person Paper

Friday, October 21, 2016

1. Creative Person

The person I chose to write about is Edgar Allan Poe.

1. Work and Life

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of actor David Poe Jr. and actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe. Both of his parents died when he was a young child. His dad died of tuberculosis and his mom died of consumption. According to Kennedy (2001), “Orphaned by two itinerant stage performers, Poe in later life sometimes tried to obscure his humble origins, although he faithfully preserved a locket containing a miniature painting of his mother” (p. 19). This shows that it troubled him growing up and might be some of the cause to why he is the way he is. Poe later went to live with John and Frances Allan who were successful tobacco merchant that lived in Richmond, Virginia. Poe started writing when he was young. He wrote poems to several school girls, but his strongest feelings were to an older woman named Jane Stith Stanard.  According to Kennedy, “She presumably inspired his great lyric ‘To Helen’, and her derangement and sudden death in 1824 so grieved him that in ensuing months he often visited her grave at the Shockoe Hill Cemetery” (p.22). Buranelli (1961) said, “[In 1827,] He leave the university, quarrels with John Allan, goes to Boston, enlists in the U.S. Army” (p.11). One may gather from this that when Poe got upset, he needed an escape and the army was that for him. He later leaves the army when he finds out his foster mom, Frances Allan, dies. Poe later becomes an editor of the Southern Literary Messenger in 1835. He even published some of his own works in the magazine. Poe was once engaged to a woman named Elmira Royster, but it was ruined by her parents. He later marries his cousin Virginia Clemm. Biography.com (2016) said, “Poe became a literary sensation in 1845 with the publication of the poem ‘The Raven’” (p.1).  It was considered to be one of his best works. Another thrilling tale he published was “The Cask of Amontillado”. Poe wrote many stories and poems throughout his life. Later in life, Poe was overcome by grief after the death of his wife Virginia in 1847. While he tried to continue to work, he suffered from poor health and also struggled financially. Poe died on October 7, 1849 at Washington College Hospital. There are mean theories to his death, but no one knows for sure how he died. The “official” statement of his death said that he died because of congestion on the brain. Poe has become one of America’s most enduring writers. He was a bright, imaginative thinker who crafted stories and poems that still shock, surprise, and move readers today.