Michigan experiences first case of measles since 2019
By Alison Yarger
“And my soul from out
that shadow that lies floating
on the floor Shall be lifted –
Nevermore! (From Poe’s
The Raven )
The Fall of the House
of Usher, The Telltale Heart,
The Pit and the Pendulum –
it’s been probably close to
56 plus years since I have
read any of these works
by Poe. But picking up
this biography, I thought I
should reacquaint myself
with at least The Raven.
Although many of the titles
of his works seem ominous
and foreboding, behind each
dark story or gloomy poem
he wrote was a rationale,
one perhaps we might not
understand.
This biography began
unlike any I’ve read – it
starts with Poe’s death, and
the rumors surrounding,
not just his death, but the
cause(s) of his death, mostlyBook Corner
A Mystery of Mysteries: TheDeath and Life of Edgar Allan Poe
By Mark Dawidziak - Biography
to these widespread
speculations, as well as
allegations of what he may or
may not have accomplished
in his rather young life. It
certainly showed what
gossipmongering and
innuendo can do to damage
or taint an individual’s
reputation.
The entire memoir is
viewed through the prism
of his mysterious death and
its many causes. As was
stated, “Poe’s death is a
moment shrouded in horror
and mystery because he died
in a painful, utterly bizarre
manner that would not have
been out of place in one of
his own tales of terror.”
Missing in Baltimore
for three days prior to
his death, when he was
eventually found, Poe was
delirious and in tremendous
pain. Additionally, he was
found wearing ill-fitting
clothing that wasn’t his.Dying under haunting
circumstances added to the
mystery of Poe’s death. He
succumbed to whateverillness or affliction it was,
by our standards today,
at the young age of 40, on
October 7, 1849.
There was speculation
about Poe’s cause of death
that ranged from suicide
to syphilis, alcoholism to
rabies, and even that he
might have been murdered/
poisoned.
Of course, most of
these theories were formed
because of the personality
that has come to be
associated with Poe: “The
gloomy-eyed grandfather
of Goth, hunched over a
writing desk with a raven
perched on one shoulder,
drunkenly scribbling his
chilling masterpieces.”
The most popular
theory is that Poe died
from phrenitis, which is an
antiquated term for swelling
or congestion of the brain,
and its cause is generally
alcoholism. But sadly, none
of Poe’s medical records,
or even his actual death
certificate, has been found.
Dawidziak presents
a different vision of Poe,
trying to discredit the
myths of how he both lived
and died. This biography
gives the reader a better
understanding of Poe,
uncovering the possible
truth behind his mysterious
death – and, with a new
theory that could prove the
cause of Poe’s death was
something that haunted him
all of his life. Additionally,
he presents a narrative
rotating between Poe’s
desperate last months and
his brief, but impactful, life.
Poe has been cast
throughout the decades as
being humorless, macabre,
sullen, and devoid of any
care for others. While there
is merit in this, there wasanother side of Poe that
most people never learned,
according to Dawidziak’s
research.
Poe was the son of
the English-born actress,
Elizabeth Arnold Poe, and
David Poe, Jr., an actor from
Baltimore. After both his
parents died in Richmond,
Virginia in 1811, when
Poe was three years old,
he was adopted by John
Allan, a Richmond tobacco
merchant and was sent to a
boarding school in London.
He ultimately returned to
Virginia to continue his
education.
With a gambling
problem, Poe only attended
the University of Virginia for
11 months in 1826, dropping
out of school to return to
Richmond, only to find
out his sweetheart, Elmire
Royster, was engaged. This
sent Poe into an entirely
different downward spiral,
albeit a temporary one.
Returning to Boston,
his writings continued, and
he published a pamphlet
titled “Tamerlane and Other
Poems”. Because Poe
gambled, he rarely had any
money; therefore, he was
forced to join the Army,
using the name Edgar Perry,
but his adoptive father, John
Allan, purchased his release
from the Army and helped
him get an appointment to
West Point. He was abruptly
expelled from West Point,
as he failed to attend drills
and classes for a week. Not
being able to remain there,
he moved a bit south into
New York City where he
continued to write, using
the influences of Keats and
Shelly in his works.
Shortly thereafter,
he again returned to
Baltimore, and began moreliterary composing, but
by 1835 Poe, obviously
unsettled, had moved back
to Richmond, and was
the editor of the Southern
Literary Messenger.
In contrast with today’s
social mores, Poe married
his 13-year-old cousin,
Virginia, in 1836 when
he was 27. At age 19, she
contracted tuberculosis and
eventually died, at age 24,
in their cottage. Edgar
and Virginia never had any
children, nor is there any
record of him having any
illegitimate children. In
Dawadziak’s research, there
was disclosed the possibility
that Poe had some
knowledge of primitive
birth control.
This book is not for
everyone, and a bit of itbecomes redundant, but- it certainly opened my
eyes to a man whom I
always considered morose
and ghoulish – based
solely upon his picture
and writings. But Poe was
an ordinary man with an
extraordinary talent for
writing and yes – his topics
were bleak and even a bit
disturbing. But remember,
he wrote the beautiful
poem Annabelle Lee , which
is thought to have been
written in memory of his
young wife.
If you enjoyed reading
any of Poe’s works, I think
you’d find his biography
fascinating. It was very
well-written, easy to follow,
and extremely informative.
I’d give this a 4 out of 5
stars.
opinions germinated and
unabashedly spread by
locals and reporters. And
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