Edgar Allan Poe

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Edgar Allan Poe's Biography

Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809 and totally abandoned when two and a half years old. He was raised by the John Allan family of Richmond, VA. Poe received a respectable primary education and received one year of his college education at the University of Virginia. Due to a disagreement with John Allan over his decision to study and pursue a career in literature, Poe was no longer receiving assistance from the Allan family. Alone, Poe's interests carried him to the cities of Boston, Baltimore, Richmond, Philadelphia, and New York.

In Boston, during his late teen years, Poe enlisted in the army and studied for a brief time at West Point. Soon after, he went to live with his aunt in Baltimore. During this time, Poe began to experiment writing gothic tales that served both as comedies and satires about German and British genres. These stories gained acclaim and earned Poe a literary award. Poe then took the job as an editor on a Richmond magazine, Southern Literary Messenger. His writing increased the sales of the magazine greatly.

Poe married his cousin Virginia, a girl of thirteen, in order to secure a home for his aunt, the mother of his wife. Although somewhat stable, Poe believed his writing deserved acclaim from grander sources than those offered in Richmond. As well, Poe was an alcoholic and his boss threatened to fire him unless the drinking on the job ceased.

In 1837, Poe spent eighteen months in New York unsuccessfully looking for jobs but frequently free-lancing his work. However, his talents pervaded once again and he was offered an editorial position in Philadelphia writing on Graham's Magazine. Here, Poe wrote such stories as "Ligeia" and "The Fall of the House of Usher". However, his drinking again interrupted his work and he was forced to leave the magazine. Nonetheless, he found a new job at Graham's magazine where he continued to write such famous works as "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Pit and the Pendulum", and "The Gold Bug".

In 1844, Poe moved and settled in New York. During this time, he wrote "The Raven", the most successful piece acknowledged during his life. Rich and popular, Poe went on to take the job as sole editor of "The Broadway Journal". Unfortunately, the magazine did not prosper and the magazine was forced into bankruptcy. During this time, his wife, Virginia, died at the age of twenty-five. Poe blamed himself constantly for her lapses with tuberculosis believing his heavy drinking lead to he eventual death.

The seemingly spent the next few years of his life in a fairly happy state. Poe returned to Richmond and became engaged to his childhood sweetheart and lived in high esteem among his peers as he was revered a literary hero.
On a business trip to New York, Poe stopped in Baltimore. The local elections were prompted by drinking, fighting, and political scandals. Poe was found dead unconscious on a Baltimore street. Within a few days, Poe died of pneumonia.

Poe's career as a writer has left a magnificent imprint on the literary world. However, the havoc of his personal weakness, alcohol, led to his eventual demise.

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