Edgar Allan Poe

I live in Maine. So when a friend of mine invited me to vacation in Florida during the winter, how could I say “no”? We spend a lot of the time seeing the sights and exploring the culture of the sunshine state.

One of our adventures was a night out at a local venue experiencing an Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy. Guests were invited to dress in the style of that era and encouraged to enjoy four unique cocktails in between selected readings written by Poe. It was so much fun and actually very enlightening. The actors were amazing and informative. Needless to say that little taste of Poe appealed to my writer’s nature and I had to research more about the life and times of one of the world's most famous author,

Poe led a tragic life, filled with loss, heartache, and addiction. Perhaps that is a big part of the reason for his unique writing style. Most of his works were based upon different aspects of his own life.

Edgar was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His parents Elizabeth and David Poe were traveling actors. Shortly after Edgar was born the family ran low on money. David, who was an alcoholic most of his adult life, abandoned the family, leaving Eliza to raise and support their three young children. Eliza contracted tuberculosis and died on December 8th, 1811. She was 24 years old. It is thought that David died 3 days after Eliza, but his exact cause of death remains unknown. So, Edgar became an orphan at the tender age of 2.

Edgar was taken in, but never officially adopted by a Richmond, Virginia couple, John and Frances Allan. Edgar went from a life of poverty into the world of the elite upper-class. He met Elmira Royster, fell in love and asked her to marry him. She agreed, and when Edgar decided to go to Charlottesville to attend the University of Virginia, Elmira promised to wait until after his graduation to take their vows.

Unfortunately, UVA’s tuition was much more than Edgar had anticipated, so he made the even more unfortunate decision to gamble to raise the rest of the funds. Finding himself $2000 in debt, he returned home after only a couple of months at UVA. In the meantime, Elmira’s father found her a more suitable husband and she broke off their engagement.

Heartbroken and financially broken, Poe moved to Boston and enlisted in the army in May of 1827. During that time, Poe tried his hand at writing and published his first book of poetry “Tamerlane and Other Poems” under his pen name “A Bostonian”. Edgar did well in the Army and decided to go to West Point. He did very well academically, but again ran into financial problems. He turned to alcohol as a crutch and was court marshalled for extreme dereliction of duty. He moved to Baltimore.

Edgar moved in with his aunt, Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia. During the next four years his literary career blossomed. Poe published “Metzengerstein” and “Berenice”. His editor, Thomas White offered Poe a job on the staff of the Messenger. Poe agreed and moved back to Richmond. Poe invited his aunt Maria and Virginia to live with him. A year later Poe married Virginia. He was 27 and she was 13.

In 1837 Edgar and Virginia moved to Philadelphia. During this time period, Poe produced his most famous literature. He wrote “The Telltale Heart”, “The Masque of the Red Death”, “The Black Cat”, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, “The Gold Bug”. “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, and his most well known piece, “The Raven”.

Virginia was his muse and his inspiration. Consequently, when she contracted tuberculosis and died in 1847 at the age of 24 he was emotionally devastated. He moved back to Richmond once again and ultimately rekindled his childhood romance with Elmira Royster and they became engaged in 1849.

At this point in his life Edgar’s health was fragile after years of being an obsessive alcoholic. On a night in late October he was found drunk and delirious in a tavern in Baltimore. He was taken to the hospital and spent the next four days in and out of consciousness, He died on October 7th 1849. His death still remains a mystery. Doctors labeled his cause of death as inflammation of the brain, but the true cause is unknown.

In the words of Edgar Allen Poe-

“Never to suffer would have been never to have been blessed.”