Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was born today, January 19. There are few writers who have had the influence of Poe. He cast a long shadow over his contemporaries, as I discussed here. He was one of the greatest scribes of darkness. And his work is dark.
But it’s also very, very good.
So many of his tales, poems, and stories are classics. “The Raven”. “The Fall of the House of Usher”. “The Pit and the Pendulum”. “The Cask of Amontillado”. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”. “The Gold-Bug”. The Masque of the Red Death”. “The Premature Burial”. “The Black Cat”. “The Tell-Tale Heart”.
So let me throw this question out. If you were going to put together a collection Poe’s best works, a greatest hits collection, if you will, what would you include, and why?
It’s hard to go wrong with any of Poe’s masterworks. However, I think any collection that left out “The Cask of Amontillado” would miss the mark. That tale sweeps the helpless reader up and carries him to a conclusion that, once it’s done, seems inevitable. No one has ever matched it.
Agreed. My son had to read it for English class a couple of years ago. I reread it and had a wonderful discussion about it with him.
I think the ones you listed would be great for his best of book.
Not to long ago I read The Narrative A Gordon Pym.
I haven’t read that one. What did you think of it?
It was interesting until the abrupt end. It’s Poe’s only novel. Not perfect, but definitely worth reading.
Thanks. I’ll try to fit it in.
Well, I’ve always been partial to “ulalume”. EAP was an exceptional poet, IMO. Also, I do think that THE NARRATIVE OF A. GORDON PYM deserves more love. While it has its flaws, it is also the first fairly successful SFF adventure novel in the English language–I don’t count GULLIVER’S TRAVELS. Poe swung for th bleachers. He may not have hit a home run, but he deserves major credit for swinging as is. Verne was a HUGE fan of the novel. He even wrote a sequel.
I have a great deal of respect for writers who stretch themselves, even if they aren’t entirely successful in what they are attempting. See Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech for a good explanation of that: