Raven and Other Poems
The undisputed pioneer of the horror, detective and science-fiction genres, Edgar Allan Poe was an accomplished poet as well as a celebrated writer of short stories. The present edition contains all of his works in verse, from the major poems of his maturity – such as his famous ballads ‘The Raven’ and ‘Lenore’ – to those he published in his youth and those that were collected immediately after his premature death in 1849.
Also included in this volume is a selection of Poe’s essays on poetical composition and prosody, revealing that poetry was at the core of the American master’s vision of literature – something also demonstrated by the significant and enduring body of work he left behind in this field.
Born in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49) was brought up by the Allan merchant family after the death of his mother and being abandoned by his father. While studying at the University of Virginia he started self-publishing volumes of poetry, and after a stint in the military began writing essays and fiction for a living. He died of unknown causes – with rabies, cholera, alcoholism and tuberculosis among the hypotheses – in Baltimore.