Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA on January 19, 1809 His parents died when he was very young so he was raised by John and Frances Allan from Richmond, Virginia, USA He attended school at The University of Virginia and then entered the army for a short time In 1835, when he was 27 years old, he married Virginia Clemm. She was only 13 years old and they were first cousins and they loved each other more like brother and sister than husband and wife. Sadly, she died a few years later in January 1842 from tuberculosis. Edgar Allan Poe mourned the death of Virginia for many years and many of his poems about death and lost love showed his saddness. Edgar Allan Poe was the first person ever to try to earn money through his writing alone. It was very hard but he was able to publish many poems, short stories, literary criticisms (his opinions on other writers’ works), and even one novel. His first book, Tamerlane and other Poems, was published in July 1827 Instead of his name, the book only has “A Bostonian” as the author Many of the poems in this book were inspired by Lord Byron, another poet. The book was not very successful and Edgar Allan Poe rewrote some of the poems later on in his life. “The Raven” was published in January 29, 1945 and made Poe very popular (but not very rich). The long poem shows the subject that Poe became most well-known for: love lost, sadness, and death. Even though he wrote other short stories and poems, some even for children, he is still most known as the “Master of Macabre” because of the dark, gothic themes of most of his works. Some of Edgar Allan Poe’s Writings... (illustrated by various artists) The Masque of the Red Death Short Story, published 1842 illustration by Harry Clarke 1919 Ulalume - A Ballad Poem, published December 1847 illustration by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, circa 1847-1848 The Narrative of Aurthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket Poe’s only Novel, published 1838 Lenore (originally title A Paean) Poem, published 1843 illustration by Henry ,Sandman 1886 Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849 but nobody knows the exact reason why. He was found sick and wandering the streets wearing somebody else’s clothes and was never able to explain what happened to him. Some of his enemies tried to tarnish his reputation by saying he was a drug addict and a drunk. Most of this was not true. One thing’s for sure, Edgar Allan Poe is one of the greatest Poets to ever live.