Edgar Allan Poe
Poe, Edgar Allan, known as a poet and critic but most famous as the first master
of the short-story form, especially tales of the mysterious and macabre. The
literary merits of Poe's writings have been debated since his death, but his
works have remained popular and many major American and European writers have
professed their artistic debt to him. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Poe was
orphaned in his early childhood and was raised by John Allan, a successful
businessman of Richmond, Virginia. Taken by the Allan family to England at the
age of six, Poe was placed in a private school. Upon returning to the United
States in 1820, he continued to study in private schools. He attended the
University of Virginia for a year, but in 1827 his foster father, displeased by
the young man's drinking and gambling, refused to pay his debts and forced him
to work as a clerk. Poe, disliking his new duties intensely, quit the job, thus
estranging Allan, and went to Boston. There......
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