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Entire Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
Photographic & Annotated Edition
Edited by Andrew Barger
Hardback: $32.99 USD (756 Pages)
Paperback: $21.77 USD (524 Pages)
Foreword
By
Andrew Barger
Demystifying Poe
Edgar Allan Poe is arguably our most original and brilliant author of American letters and most misunderstood. His combination of industriousness, minuteness for detail, originality, and respect for the written word are unparalleled. As James Russell Lowell put it in his “Graham’s Magazine” article titled “Edgar Allan Poe” of February 1845: Mr. Poe has two of the prime qualities of genius, a faculty of vigorous yet minute analysis, and a wonderful fecundity of imagination. Yet despite the popularity of a few Poe stories and poems, over one hundred and fifty years after his death, he remains mysterious both in character and in the collective body of his works.
Regarding his character, I tried to bring him to life in a historical novel called “Coffee with Poe” that includes many actual letters to and from Poe. These letters were drawn upon to bring to resurrect other people in his life. Before starting, I knew the research would be drudgery, yet at a minimum, it would at least give me a great excuse to reread classic Poe tales and poems, including some that I had never experienced. Enjoying writing more than researching, I longed for the day when I could finally extract myself from the dinginess of the library and smudged Internet terminals to begin the novel. The research, however, became not one of drudgery but one of fascination. The Internet has a wealth of information on Poe (the top site being that of the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore at www.eapoe.org) and it is increasing daily as old magazines and photographs of his day are scanned. Poe’s writings and mysterious life have a profound way of sucking a person in and not letting go. I was no exception. With each biography I had to read another, with each eyewitness account there were more with a slightly different twist or contradiction. Then there were the letters from and to Poe that read like a page-turning epistolary tale. Poe was a master of the written word and his day-to-day letters are a shining example. The stream of consciousness that came from Poe’s stylus (without our modern day copy-and-paste functions, delete keys, and spelling checkers) is simply amazing. Nearly two years later the research was put aside, the writing was finished, and “Coffee with Poe” was published with Poe (The man) being a little less mysterious.
It had to be time to move on from his strange and fascinating world, right? Little did I realize, I was only beginning to explore the mysterious collective body of his works. Most people know one or two of his poems (“The Raven” in particular) and a handful of his short stories. The other ninety percent of his works are little read and if they are, result in confusion as to their underlying meaning. Once read, however, they have a way of drawing you back. As a way to clear my head from the last novel, and to get rid of a couple haunting new ideas, I wrote a few short stories . . . but always came back to Poe’s. I cobbled together a rough outline for a new book about a young man’s travel across the United States to find his girl, wrote a few more short stories, and always came back to Poe. I wrote a new interpretation of Poe’s “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether” and even this did not satisfy me. I quickly realized that I could not escape his shadowy expanse of mausoleums and lost loves and sable ravens that form the mountainous body of his work without answering many nagging questions the lie beneath the surface of his stories. I also wondered who were the mysterious recipients of his poems (most of them ladies). Looking around it became apparent that my initial research did not leave me standing atop this mountain at all, but rather on a foothill that provided a warm and safe base camp from where one could attempt to reach the Poe summit. Nearly two hundred years after his birth, a number of historians have scaled it to report their findings. Yet in knowing this, the nagging question kept arising as to why there existed no complete volume of Poe’s stories and poems containing photographs of the people he wrote about, foreign word translations, definitions of antiquated words, political cartoons of the day Poe drew upon, and background information? Why does one still have to research the ending of “The Purloined Letter” a century and a half later? Reading Poe without this information can be frustrating at best. It’s like trying to dig up a treasure chest with a teaspoon or trying to find Kidd’s buried treasure on Sullivan’s Island without a gold-bug. Having literary rope, spiked boots, and pick ax in hand I set out to change this. The air quickly gets thin and misinformation can easily halt the climb, but once at the higher elevations, the view is unbelievable. Here are the results in over seven hundred pages, two thousand five hundred footnotes, background stories, multiple photographs, and political cartoons of the day.
I. Poe the Literary Lion
How does one go about the task of becoming a literary lion? Poe lampooned Benjamin Disraeli in “Lion-izing” and a host of others in his critiques for attempting the same and for falling short. Poe clearly showed us what not to do, but did he teach us anything about being a literary lion so that an author’s stories and poems are read long after their death? The common refrain among coffeehouses and university classrooms is: “The author won’t care, they’ll be dead.” There is much truth to that statement. To Poe, however, being a literary lion meant everything or otherwise we would not still be hearing his roar. Where then is this remote jungle where literary lions roam, which so many authors try to find and get lost in the underbrush? A review of Poe and his methods gives us a great roadmap. Not surprisingly it is a rutted road that deviates substantially from that required by Big Publishing with its demands of pigeonholing authors into one type of genre fiction or another. If an author writes for Big Publishing, they must swear to write in their genre and only their genre, so help them God. Let’s visit America of 1840 and assume that Poe, a man who is beginning to make a name for himself in literature, goes the popular direction and contracts with Big Publishing. Here is what his editor may have told him. “Horror, Mr. Poe, we need more horror. Keep making ladies faint. Stop burlesquing other authors. We do not pay for making people laugh or tricking the public about scientific discoveries; we pay you for scaring them. Stop trying to write new types of stories. You are too original. Stick with what works. Leave experimentation to the scientists. And who cares about mesmerism and homo-cameleopards and how to write Blackwood articles? Horror! Drive all these romantic poems out of your system, too. Now run along boy and write some more horror. Shoo.” If Poe had followed this advice we would have no “Raven” or “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Who knows how long the murder mystery would have taken to develop. Perhaps there would have been no Sherlock Holmes or our wildly popular Harry Potter (a young character involved in a grand mystery wrapped in wizards and muggles). Poe eschewed this tactic of writing to conformity and in doing so, he was constantly pushing the literary envelope and writing outside the comfort zone that so many authors are happy to wallow in their entire careers. Poe strove for originality in his poetry and tales, which meant writing across numerous genres. Along the way he created the murder mystery and forged new territory in science fiction. He also took the horror genre to sites unseen. Add to the mix the creativity of Poe, combined with a fantastic command of verse and vernacular, and you have a classic author who has and will live far beyond the date of his death. Even T.S. Eliot, who was no Poe fan, went so far as to state it is impossible, however, to know if even one's own works were not influenced by his. Find a modern writer who claims to have not been influenced by Poe in some way, even if they have never read a word from Poe, and you will find a liar.
II. Poe the Critic
One of Poe’s biggest career mistakes was his alter ego as critic even though he was one of the best of the nineteenth century. We realize today that most everything he had to say as critic proved true. Poe’s jabs, especially at the literati of New York, gained him many enemies and few friends. Poe was not one to be trifled with. James Russell Lowell had this to say in the “Graham’s Magazine” article of February 1845: Mr. Poe is at once the most discriminating, philosophical, and fearless critic upon imaginative works who has written in America. Yet, the article went to praise Poe for his tales and poems. Even Nathaniel Hawthorn whose style and tone Poe applauded in a review of “Twice Told Tales” (“The style of Mr. Hawthorne is purity itself. His tone is singularly effective- wild, plaintive, thoughtful, and in full accordance with his themes.”) wrote to Poe on June 17, 1846, and stated I admire you rather as a writer of tales than as a critic upon them, I might often – and often do – dissent from your opinions in the latter capacity, but could never fail to recognize your force and originality in the former. Poe was a great critic, perhaps one of the best, but his talents allowed him to strive for so much more. When he was acting as critic, he was delving into the non-creative, lower reaches of his character. An author should let his stories take care of the burlesque and satire of other writers, politicians, cults, etc, instead of beat-you-over-the-head criticism. His “Tales of the Folio Club” contain 11 stories that poke fun at, and adopt the styles of, leading authors of his day. No different than a great musician playing one-upmanship across a grand stage, Poe demonstrated at an early age that he could adopt anyone’s style of writing and, with tongue in cheek, do them one better. Poe had no need for blunt criticism of others. If you have the best literary mansion on the street, there is no need to sink to the level of neighborhood gossip. To his credit, Poe used critiques to gain a name for himself and thereby open the door to publishing fiction. He also got paid for the harsh critiques, which kept his little family fed but afforded them no luxuries. Poe went so far as to poke fun at himself and literary critics in “The Literary Life of Thingum Bob.” He managed to publish over two-hundred critiques in his time, over eighty-five poems, north of seventy short stories, and one novel. Imagine if Poe had instead written one fifth as much fiction instead of these critiques. We would have another forty stories from him or perhaps a few novels. In addition, we may have numerous other poems and perhaps another “Raven” or better yet, another “Ulalume.” He could have increased his stories by fifty-five percent. Without his critiques Poe could have made the mountain that much higher. Imagine.
III. If Poe Were Alive Today
If Poe were living in modern America he would be at no loss for material, largely because little has changed in the two hundred years since his birth. While great leaps have been made in nearly every category of man’s existence, we have no shortage of pills that promise to change people’s lives. There are pills for the fat and pills for the skinny. There are pills to shrink your head and expand your mind. If you are light-skinned, pop a pill to become dark and if too dark, take a skin lightener and do something with your weight while you are at it. But whatever you do, pop a pill and change yourself, change, change. There is nothing worse than being who you are! We have popular authors of dubious merit no different than Thomas Dunn English and John Neal of Poe’s day. Pseudo-science religious groups tout new levels of existence for the body-trapped soul that would make any transcendentalist of the mid-nineteenth century proud. Personal trips to the moon, we are told, are almost here and the valuation of Internet stocks have been there already. Many people don’t know that Poe was a practical joker at heart. There are great stories of his antics at West Point and one of a fake severed head is recounted in “Coffee with Poe.” He extended this jokester personality into many of his tales. His collection of short stories that were to be published under the title “Tales of the Folio Club,” satired many in the literary world held in high esteem. Although he suffered through the deaths of his parents, boyhood love, foster mother and wife, Poe kept his great sense of humor and continued to publish satires and literary hoaxes throughout his career. One of his most notable was the “[The Balloon Hoax]” published in a daily newspaper, that got readers all worked up over the purported success of a transatlantic balloon flight that would cut travel time to Europe by eighty percent. There were no general store tabloids in Poe’s day shouting absurdities in the checkout aisle and Poe wasted no time in hoaxing the gullible. Another great success of his along this vein were his stories on mesmerism that had many believing in the mostly junk science. Poe seized on the California gold rush and even went so far as to read his poem “Al Aaraaf” to the Boston literati as being a new poem by him. If Poe had not told anyone of his trick after the reading, the crowd would have been fooled since they were not familiar with his early poem. Most assuredly, if Poe were alive today he would have no shortage of material to satire and gullible people to hoax. Everything has changed and nothing has changed.
IV. The Accessible Poe
In this compilation you will uncover numerous ways that the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe have not been fully intertwined into a single volume in the past; a gentler pathway up the face of the mountain. These manifest themselves in background information, definitions, photographs, poetry sent by others to Poe, and foreign language translations. Included are nearly twenty-five hundred footnotes. If you see a troubling word, simply glance down at the bottom of the page for clarity. Lack of this clarity flies in the face of Poe’s belief that the ideal story must be capable of being read in one sitting, unimpeded by interruptions. Certainly having to consult a dictionary, thesaurus, translator, Internet, encyclopedia, and history books would fall into the interruption category. Alongside the listing of stories in the Contents section is the particular genre of the story. Categorizing Poe is difficult. Many of his stories have two or three genres wrapped into one. Please grant liberty here as the dominant genre is listed. It is interesting and telling to view all the different genres Poe wrote across in one place. I trust you will find whole new worlds and angles that will open up to you—the intelligent Poe reader—as never before.
A. Annotations/Definitions/Translations
Poe is not easily readable unless one is schooled in French, Greek, Italian, Latin; familiar with antiquated words that have fallen out of favor in the English language; understands nautical terminology, and (most importantly) is versed in the social and political settings of nineteenth century life. And let’s not forget about the hundred and fifty year vernacular barrier. For instance, the ending of “The Purloined Letter” is unintelligible unless one is versed in Latin or has a copy of Crébillon’s “Atrée” sitting on their bookshelf for reference. That’s why troublesome words and turns of phrase are defined here to prevent readers from leaving the rhyme and rhythm of the poems or to look up words and clarify key points in his tales. Having to consult a reference book while reading Poe’s poetry is akin to stopping an orchestra during the concerto because one has to research the key being played. It is not enjoyable.
B. Background Information
To fully understand Poe, no matter how schooled, one must be versed in the social setting of his day. One must know the beliefs, fears, politics, and religious beliefs of the early nineteenth century. The mystery of Poe’s life is only compounded by the people to whom his poems and many of his satires were addressed. Getting to know them by background allows a person to have a deeper understanding of Poe’s writing. Most of his poems are heartfelt and he penned them to the many women in his life, yet very few are addressed in the title. In these pages you will find arguments for the intended recipients of his poems and a bio for each that sets the framework of Poe’s life at the time. His satires, on the other hand, are biting from a literary standpoint and set on a grand scale. In stories like “The Cask of Amontillado,” “King Pest,” “Hop-Frog,” “Never Bet the Devil Your Head: A Tale with a Moral,” and “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether,” Poe combines horror and satire to throw revealing light on his literary enemies and various politicians.
C. Photographs
The poems are listed chronologically beneath a photograph of the person (where available) to whom they were intended or who had deep involvement surrounding the poem. The tales also include pictures of key figures underlying the story. In the days before the Internet and television there were only three ways of knowing what a person looked like. The first was personal knowledge, the second was a detailed facial description by an author, and the third was through art in the mediums of painted illustrations or sculptures. A famous illustrator of the nineteenth century was Daniel Maclise who made a fine living off making illustrations of various literary figures. These illustrations were printed in Fraser’s Magazine to which Poe had access. One of the best illustrations is that of Robert Montgomery titled “Satan” that is included here with “Never Bet the Devil Your Head: A Tale with a Moral.” Poe used the Reverend Montgomery to appear as Satan in the tale based off the illustration in Fraser’s. And while we have all seen photos of Poe, it is interesting to see the men and women in his life along with lesser known literary figures of the day.
D. Poetry Sent to Poe by His Many Loves
Also included in this compilation are poems written to Poe by the women in his life. Poe was engaged four times to three different women and there are accounts that he asked at least two other ladies for their hand in marriage. As Poe wrote in “To M—,” I cannot be, lady, alone. He was, however, only married once—to Virginia Clemm—his thirteen-year-old first cousin. The love life of Poe is a story unto itself. It is made all the more compelling when taken in context with the many poems to and from these women, especially his relationship with Frances Osgood that cannot be fully understood without reading the poems written between the poets. This is also a unique feature of this book.
E. Little-Known Poe Works
“[The Bloodhounds],” “Cabs,” “The Magazine Prison House,” “Morning on the Wissahiccon,” “[The Rats of Park Theatre],” and “The Swiss Bell-Ringers” are included in this compilation. While none is a major Poe work, the former two demonstrate Poe’s gift for comedy and the later, his love of nature.
Obviously, Poe the creator of this majestic mountain did not make it easy to understand the topography and formations. Poe did not want every one to understand his writings. I believe what Poe meant by this wish is that he wrote for the educated and literary among us. Lovers of bubblegum fiction need not apply. Poe wrote to a high audience. He created his mountain while trying to survive on writing and writing alone, all this while suffering through constant illness and death of loved ones. He truly chose a life of poverty for artistic sake and that alone is to be held in high esteem. The purest form of art is one unmotivated by money. To many readers this mountain has been lost in the misty regions of Weir starting with Poe’s enemies during his life, continuing right after his death with Rufus Griswold’s torpedoing of his literary and personal reputation, and extending on in large part to the present day by the lack of a complete edition of his tales and poems that provides the combination of information you will find here. This compilation puts a kinder, gentler face on this mountain, one accessible by a safe trail instead of winding chasms of misinformation and jagged rocks of confusion. With these added features of accessibility you will find Poe much more enjoyable and informative even if you have already read a Poe collection, and that it will shed greater light on the life of one of America’s greatest authors and poets. Poe is now readily accessible to all, both scholars and schoolchildren alike. Reading Poe and rereading him again and again is time well spent. You may find you keep coming back to him or rather that he keeps sucking you back in. Through his writings he has somehow touched every writer after him. Poe is that good of an author. He is that important.
Andrew Barger
October 12, 2005
Entire Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
Photographic & Annotated Edition
Edited by Andrew Barger
Hardback: $32.99 USD (756 Pages)
Paperback: $21.77 USD (524 Pages)
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Fiction
"Coffee with Poe retells Edgar Allan Poe’s remarkable life from his perspective. It's filled with actual letters to his three fiancées, his literary contemporaries (Longfellow, Irving, and Hawthorne), and his spiteful foster father. Read about Poe's literary struggles, many romances and battles with poverty."