EDGAR ALLAN POE
Here are some “highlights” from the life of the author of The Raven.
~ Born in 1809 to actor parents. Never knew his father, David Poe, who left his mother and disappeared shortly after Edgar was born. Father was an alcoholic with a fiery temper.
~ Father died of consumption in 1810.
~ Mother died of consumption in 1811.
~ All three of the kids, Edgar, Rosalie and Henry, were adopted by different families.
~ Although his foster-mother adored him, his foster-father, John-Allan resented the boy from the start.
~ In about 1822-1823, Edgar fell in love with a much older woman (his first love) by the name of Jane Stanard. He found out she was dying of consumption.
~ John Allan began to resent Edgar’s philandering ways (the latter was now dating a young lady, Elmira Royston) and sent him away to university in Charlottesville, providing him with a pittance to live on.
~ In 1826, while at the school, he began to gamble to supplement his meagre income. He was soon expelled for not paying gambling debts. This episode caused a rift between Edgar and his foster-father, John Allan (wealthy merchant), and the former was disowned.
~ Elmira father disapproved of his daughter’s romance with Edgar and intercepted the letters that Edgar sent her.
~ John Allan returned Edgar to Richmond, Virginia. He now learned that his beloved foster-mother, Frances Allan, was dying of consumption.
~ In 1836, Poe married his thirteen-year- old cousin Virginia Clemm.
~ At various times over the years, Edgar appealed to his foster-father for financial help. None is ever forthcoming and finally John Allan cut Edgar completely out of his will.
~ In 1842, Virginia ruptured a blood vessel while singing for visitors and remained an invalid until her death from consumption five years later.
Here are some “highlights” from the life of the author of The Raven.
~ Born in 1809 to actor parents. Never knew his father, David Poe, who left his mother and disappeared shortly after Edgar was born. Father was an alcoholic with a fiery temper.
~ Father died of consumption in 1810.
~ Mother died of consumption in 1811.
~ All three of the kids, Edgar, Rosalie and Henry, were adopted by different families.
~ Although his foster-mother adored him, his foster-father, John-Allan resented the boy from the start.
~ In about 1822-1823, Edgar fell in love with a much older woman (his first love) by the name of Jane Stanard. He found out she was dying of consumption.
~ John Allan began to resent Edgar’s philandering ways (the latter was now dating a young lady, Elmira Royston) and sent him away to university in Charlottesville, providing him with a pittance to live on.
~ In 1826, while at the school, he began to gamble to supplement his meagre income. He was soon expelled for not paying gambling debts. This episode caused a rift between Edgar and his foster-father, John Allan (wealthy merchant), and the former was disowned.
~ Elmira father disapproved of his daughter’s romance with Edgar and intercepted the letters that Edgar sent her.
~ John Allan returned Edgar to Richmond, Virginia. He now learned that his beloved foster-mother, Frances Allan, was dying of consumption.
~ In 1836, Poe married his thirteen-year- old cousin Virginia Clemm.
~ At various times over the years, Edgar appealed to his foster-father for financial help. None is ever forthcoming and finally John Allan cut Edgar completely out of his will.
~ In 1842, Virginia ruptured a blood vessel while singing for visitors and remained an invalid until her death from consumption five years later.
After Virginia’s death, Poe collapsed emotionally:
“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. During these fits of absolute unconsciousness I drank, God only knows how often and how much. As a matter of course, my enemies referred the insanity to the drink, rather than the drink to the insanity.”
Poe blamed himself for Virginia’s slow death, given that they were desperately poor without funds for proper medical care. In the spring of 1845, his poem The Raven was published and became an overnight success yet Poe received only $ 8.00 from his publisher!
During Virginia’s demise, Poe took to drinking. At various times he also experimented with opium. Much has been made over the years about Poe’s drinking and drug use. His use of opium should not be considered shocking since in those days it could be bought openly over the counter.
There is no doubt he was a sad and haunted man. One of his poems Alone reveals much.
“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. During these fits of absolute unconsciousness I drank, God only knows how often and how much. As a matter of course, my enemies referred the insanity to the drink, rather than the drink to the insanity.”
Poe blamed himself for Virginia’s slow death, given that they were desperately poor without funds for proper medical care. In the spring of 1845, his poem The Raven was published and became an overnight success yet Poe received only $ 8.00 from his publisher!
During Virginia’s demise, Poe took to drinking. At various times he also experimented with opium. Much has been made over the years about Poe’s drinking and drug use. His use of opium should not be considered shocking since in those days it could be bought openly over the counter.
There is no doubt he was a sad and haunted man. One of his poems Alone reveals much.
From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were – I have not seen
As others saw – I could not bring My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I lov’d, I lov’d alone…
Poe suffered from depression, grief, and delirium at various times in his life and his writings are replete with themes of madness, disease, death, necrophilia and entombment.
Although Poe is best known as a writer of the macabre, no less a talent than the French poet Charles Baudelaire described the former’s work as follows:
“…deep and shimmering as dreams, mysterious and perfect as crystals…”
*
As others were – I have not seen
As others saw – I could not bring My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I lov’d, I lov’d alone…
Poe suffered from depression, grief, and delirium at various times in his life and his writings are replete with themes of madness, disease, death, necrophilia and entombment.
Although Poe is best known as a writer of the macabre, no less a talent than the French poet Charles Baudelaire described the former’s work as follows:
“…deep and shimmering as dreams, mysterious and perfect as crystals…”
*
The efforts made to escape reality can also be seen in Truman capote. When he was writing In Cold Blood, Capote would have a double martini before lunch, another with lunch and then a stinger afterward. He was arrested in Long Island for drunk driving which forced him to check into a private clinic and dry out. Shortly after his release he was drunk again; he fell, cracked his teeth and bloodied his head. On a talk show he showed up drunk and incoherent, stating that he drinks because “it’s the only time I can stand it.”
Do writers drink more than non-writers? Statistics seem to point to that conclusion. Nancy Andreason, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa (she is also a PhD in English), did a 15 year study of creative writers on the faculty of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where students and faculty have included well-known artists such as John Cheever, Kurt Vonnegut, Flannery O’Connor, John Irving, amongst others. She found that 30% of the writers were alcoholics, compared with 7% of non-writers (the control subjects in non-artistic professions). Interestingly, she also found that 80% of the participating writers had experienced depression or manic-depression, compared to 30% of the control subjects.
Do writers drink more than non-writers? Statistics seem to point to that conclusion. Nancy Andreason, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa (she is also a PhD in English), did a 15 year study of creative writers on the faculty of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where students and faculty have included well-known artists such as John Cheever, Kurt Vonnegut, Flannery O’Connor, John Irving, amongst others. She found that 30% of the writers were alcoholics, compared with 7% of non-writers (the control subjects in non-artistic professions). Interestingly, she also found that 80% of the participating writers had experienced depression or manic-depression, compared to 30% of the control subjects.