Edgar Allan Poe

[Connavar]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

I have, but it has been many, many years since I last read a full-scale biography, rather than a biographical sketch (albeit some of those have been of considerable length). However, what I'm getting from reading Mabbott's commentary and notes in his edition of Poe, coupled with reading the available correspondence (not only from Poe himself but from a number of his contemporaries to him) and the various essays and scraps he wrote... has actually amounted to a good deal more than anything I've ever encountered before. I'm very glad I invested in Mabbott's edition of Poe, as it has proved to be enormously enlightening.

I will say this: as a young man, I'm glad I didn't know Poe; we'd have probably come to blows more than once. But as he matured, while he still had his faults, he became someone I would have been proud to call a friend....

Do you know if there is a complete tales collection that has commentary,notes like your Mabbott collection ? I would like complete stories and more critical,commentary edition at the same time. If i remember correctly the Mabbott edition you mention are out of print. I dont care what it cost.

His letters,contemporaies of his letters sound very interesting too. The letter you posted made him sound so human,another perspective of his troubles.

Your Poe experience makes me hungry to read more about him. I want to know the young,older Poe and get past the popular myths about him.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by J Riff

No ignoring the drug use, neither. Woo-woo!

Poe? Alcoholism, certainly. Drug-use, on the other hand, is extremely doubtful. There is one source which makes it possible, but even there it is dubious. This is one of those thing which came from Griswold & Co. (actually, it began earlier than that with speculations about that and Poe's supposed insanity). Unfortunately, this is one of those things which has clung to Poe (even in works by people who should know better), even to this day.

HPL, of course, never used either drugs or alcohol (on the latter: an amusing story by Samuel Loveman to the contrary notwithstanding... this also seems apocryphal, which is a shame, under the circumstances).

In both instances, a lot of what they have about the effect of, say, opium, is taken from De Quincey and others, who did use opium in differing guise (most often laudanum).

Connavar: As far as I am aware, the Mabbott edition is still in print, from the University of Illinois, albeit it is much cheaper to get it in trade paperback (the hardbound edition is quite expensive). Unfortunately, he didn't live to complete the set, so his edition is missing Poe's longest works (Pym, "Hans Phaall", Julius Rodman, Eureka), but these can be found in various other editions. I would hesitate, though, when it comes to the Penguin annotated edition of Pym and The Science Fiction of Edgar Allan Poe. While each of these have their merit, the editor/commentator also has an axe or two to grind, and that sometimes causes an overemphasis on a particular aspect at the expense of many others. Still, this is, I believe, one of the few worthwhile annotated editions of Eureka, so you may want to invest in that, either new or used.

Collections of Poe's letters aren't that common, and are generally pretty costly; but a huge number of them are available online at such places as The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, which also offers an enormous amount of his criticism, various other documents by him, and a considerable amount of critical commentary on Poe as well as a biography or two... not to mention the entire contents of different editions (such as Griswold's) which are no longer in copyright. Griswold's edition, oddly, is in many instances much closer to Poe's final intent, as Poe himself made the auctorial emendations and changes on many of the tales for it, just before his death. But I'd advise gritting your teeth before reading Griswold's own commentary.....

Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - The Life and Writings of Edgar Allan Poe

Amazon.com: Complete Poems (9780252069215): Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas Ollive Mabbott: Books

Amazon.com: Tales and Sketches, vol. 1: 1831-1842 (9780252069222): Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Eleanor D Kewer, Maureen C Mabbott: Books

Amazon.com: Tales and Sketches, vol. 2: 1843-1849 (9780252069239): Edgar Allen Poe, Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Eleanor D Kewer, Maureen C Mabbott: Books

And it looks as if there is an edition of Eureka on the same level:

Amazon.com: Eureka (9780252028496): Edgar Allan Poe, Stuart Levine, Susan F. Levine: Books

I'll need to pick that one up a little later on myself.....

[No One]

J.D's quoted letter certainly gives us an insight into the personal torture Poe went through. I'm not sure I've ever seen that before, but I know of Poe's insistence that his mental turmoil lead him to drinking and not the other way round as many critics of his time proposed.

Also the subject of knowing an author outside of his work is one that I've been back and forth on for years. I struggle to see a right or wrong approach, although J.D's points about not using any existing material to study an author that you're striving to better understand are completely on the mark. Obviously, if I was intending to study certain authors, as J.D is, then there's no question that the details of the men and women behind the book have to be taken into consideration for the reasons he mentioned.

Personally though, I do prefer going into any book knowing nothing about the author. Then, if I'm particularly taken with the book and intend to re-read it, I'll probably be inclined to learn at least a little about the author (especially when it comes to the classics).

[j. d. worthington]

Agreed. If you are going into a work simply to read and enjoy the work in vacuo, that's most likely the best way to do it. If, on the other hand, you want to appreciate any work on as many levels as possible, then such things as annotated editions, with their references to various critical interpretations, biographical information, literary influences, folkloric references (as, e.g., the significance of the different types of flowers in Poe's "For Annie", which illuminates a great deal concerning the choice of those particular plants, and how they support what Poe is attempting to convey) are tremendously helpful. And, from my own perspective, they not only add to one's appreciation of that particular work or author, but they also broaden one's perspective on literature in general, and greatly enhance one's appreciation of a vast variety of writings.

However, either approach certainly has its value, and either is worth exploring....

Incidentally... a correction (of sorts). There is a letter to that very same Annie, written just a few months before Poe's death, where he himself remarks on taking laudanum. However, the very things he says make it almost certain that this was the first and only time he ever did so (at least, voluntarily... more on that in a moment). It was also not to experience any sort of drug euphotia, but apparently an attempt at suicide; and it failed in part because he was so unfamiliar with the drug that he took too much at once, causing his body to eject it; however, it did have the effect that a large drug dose is likely to have of causing some quite severe problems mentally and emotionally while it was in his system. He also had another drug have some similar effects shortly after this; but this was when he was prescribed some medication, as he was suffering from cholera while on a lecture tour.

Now... about that "voluntarily". Most are probably aware of this, but some may not be. Poe's death (or rather its cause) has remained a mystery for more than 150 years now. He disappeared briefly, then was found wandering the streets in a dazed condition, incoherent, and dressed in clothes which were not his own. He soon lapsed into a coma from which he never fully recovered (making the often quoted "God have mercy on my poor soul" comment, supposedly his final words, most likely apocryphal), before dying. A number of causes have been advanced for this, including something which was possibly related to the medication I just mentioned -- or, rather, a condition such as that medication seems to have induced. However, quite a few scholars over the years have leaned toward what was called "cooping":

Cooping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Given Poe's political proclivities, and the fact that he did tend to make enemies easily at times, as well as some other factors, I'm inclined toward this explanation myself. If this was the case, it makes things, to me, even more tragic. But in any event, the least we can say is that the final days of Edgar Allan Poe were anything but pleasurable.....

[dask]

[dask]

This is the one I prefer.

[dask]

Sorry, don't know how I got two of these. Only remember doing it once. If a moderator would like to delete one of them that would be fine with me.

[j. d. worthington]

Having finished my reading of Poe, I feel I may have to alter my views on a couple of things. Mabbott, bless him, was extremely meticulous in providing sources for his statements; better than just about anyone I've seen on this subject; and he pretty much explodes the idea that Poe was "cooped", tracing this back to its (apparently) original source and throwing doubt on it not only because of the unreliability of that source on other things, but via other evidence. It isn't absolutely certain this didn't happen, but it is, given the evidence he presents, extremely unlikely. He also had lucid intervals during those final days, something which goes against most of what I've read on the subject before this, and Mabbott references the statements of doctors and others who nursed Poe during that period to substantiate this, as well as other things.

On the subject of his possible drug addiction, however, Mabbott also references medical sources as well as statements by those who knew Poe (and were not enemies vindictive enough to smear his personal name, as did Griswold for instance, even if they were on the outs with him); and the evidence is extremely strong that Poe had no such addictions... though in his day, he might have picked up laudanum quite easily, as it was sold over the counter for various ailments real and perceived. But for all that, he never showed any signs of addiction to anything save alcohol, and that he showed in abundance; nor is that shied away from by even his nearest and dearest, however it pained them.

In all, a fascinating journey through the mind of one of our greatest poets and writers of prose, and I've come away from this with a much greater appreciation for both his strengths and his faults as a writer and a man....

[dask]

I saw these at the used bookstore this morning:
THE TELL-TALE HEART by Julian Symons, a biography of Edgar Allan Poe, $5.
THE RETURN TO THE HOUSE OF USHER by Robert Poe, who claims to be a descendant of Poe via tryst, $3.75.
Anyone know whether these are worth having and whether the price is right?

[bookemist]

my favorite Poe is the Tell-Tale Heart. That was my introduction to horror as a genre.

[AnyaKimlin]

Originally Posted by dask

I saw these at the used bookstore this morning:
THE TELL-TALE HEART by Julian Symons, a biography of Edgar Allan Poe, $5.
THE RETURN TO THE HOUSE OF USHER by Robert Poe, who claims to be a descendant of Poe via tryst, $3.75.
Anyone know whether these are worth having and whether the price is right?

Both are good, but my maiden name was Usher so. GRR!! Poe. Aside from that yes they are worth having. The price I have no idea about being in the UK.

[dask]

Okay, thanks. If they're still there next week I'll pick 'em up. Oh, you should hyphenate your name to keep Usher. It'll keep your husband in line!

[AnyaKimlin]

LOL I'm saving it for when I write my horror story My Dad has three sons and five grandsons carrying on the family name isn't a priority.

[Extollager]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

However, quite a few scholars over the years have leaned toward what was called "cooping":

Cooping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Given Poe's political proclivities, and the fact that he did tend to make enemies easily at times, as well as some other factors, I'm inclined toward this explanation myself. If this was the case, it makes things, to me, even more tragic. But in any event, the least we can say is that the final days of Edgar Allan Poe were anything but pleasurable.....

Wow, JDW. Talk about the old weird America. I'd never heard this before. Pity I didn't get to mention it when I had my one-shot experience of teaching the American Lit course at my university!

[j. d. worthington]

I should have added (back then) that Mabbott himself opposes this view, and he is one I would tend to put some reliance on.... However, this still remains an open question (concerning Poe), and it was an established practice....