Poe was notorious for being a harsh critic-he was nicknamed the "Tomahawk Man," after all. But are you familiar with these particular criticisms?
Check these out:
1) Poe once told a guy to shoot himself. According to Poe scholar Chris Semtner in his book Edgar Allan Poe's Richmond, Poe wrote a review of author Langston Osbourne's book, Confessions of a Poet in an 1835 issue of the Southern Literary Messenger. First off, let us explain that the author had included a couple of sentences in his preface explaining that he'd had a gun on standby so he could shoot himself upon the book's ...
The Poe Museum Blog
Poe the “Punny” Poet
It was recently brought to my attention that Poe was once a comedian.
I recall first hearing this statement claimed a few years ago-after all, he has written more satire and humorous stories combined than horror-but who would believe that this "miserable" and "melancholy" writer was once a comedian?
If you still remain skeptical, do not worry-so do I. Upon reading Poe's satires, including "Lionizing" and "The Devil in the Belfry," one can see jabs at humor here and there, especially jabs which mock the social life of nineteenth century America; unfortunately, it is just that point that ...
When Hollywood Came to the Poe Museum
Carl Laemmle, Jr. needed a monster. The twenty-three year old president of Universal Pictures had produced a string of successful features since inheriting the company as his twenty-first birthday present. It was the depths of the Great Depression. Thousands were unemployed. More than ever, Americans needed an escape, and it came in the form of movies. This was an age of screwball comedies, lavish musicals, and westerns. It was also the time when Universal Pictures introduced its classic monsters — Dracula, the Mummy, and Frankenstein’s Monster. These monsters starred in the horror films that ...
A Gentleman, If Not a Christian: the Life of Rufus Griswold
In August of 2014, we covered the scandal between Poe and Rufus Griswold, Poe’s defamer. We went in depth into the situation and analyzed the happenstances leading up to Griswold’s scheme. However, it should be recognized that Griswold was more than just a villainous character in the life of Poe.
Rufus Wilmot Griswold was born February 13, 1815, in Benson, Vermont. He and his ten siblings lived on a small farm with their parents, Deborah and Rufus Griswold. According to biographer Jacob Neu in his article, "Rufus Wilmot Griswold,” not a lot of information is known about his childhood. Neu ...