Edgar Allan Poe
1809–1849
Biography
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809 and died in Baltimore in 1849, aged forty. Both of his parents were actors, and before he was three his father had left the family and his mother had died. He was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia, who raised him without ever formally adopting him. Lack of money and a quarrel with his foster father ended his time at the University of Virginia after a single year. He then enlisted in the army under an assumed name, and in 1827, while still a soldier, he published his first book of verse, Tamerlane and Other Poems. The cause of his death in Baltimore has never been settled.
Poe made his living from writing and editing. He was among the first well-known American writers to live by the pen alone, a choice that left his life and career financially hard, and his work took him through Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. He is remembered as a founding presence in American Romantic and Gothic writing. His tales of mystery and the macabre, along with his stories of ingenious detection, helped to shape the detective story, and he is also credited with early steps in science fiction. 'The Raven', published in January 1845, brought him sudden fame.
The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe on this site brings together his verse, the form in which he first appeared in book form and in which he later wrote some of his most celebrated work. Among the poems are 'The Raven', with its refrain of 'nevermore', and 'Annabel Lee', which was published in October 1849, a few days after his death. Readers who know him mainly through his stories will find the poet here.
This biography was written by a language model. The sources below are where to check it; treat details with care.
Books
The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
by Edgar Allan Poe
All of Poe's poems in one illustrated volume of 1900, from The Raven, The Bells, Ulalume and Annabel Lee to the early Tamerlane and Al Aaraaf. Many are about death, loss and the dead beloved.
Summary written by Claude Sonnet 5.5.