Edgar Allen Poe :: Biography

Many people label Edgar Allen Poe a horror writer, plain and simple others refer to Poe as the father of the detective story, but over all he ´s one Americas greatest writers. His ability of expressing the world in gothic ways, really captures the reader ´s attention. Even though he lead a tough life and was known as a sadistic drug addict and alcoholic, he still managed to produce great pieces of literature. Three of his greatest works were The Tell Tale heart, The Fall of the House Usher, and The Raven. All of these are very known troughout the world and are considered three of Poe ´s greatest pieces. He was born in Boston on January 19, 1809, his parents, regular members of Federal street theater, named him Edgar Poe. Shortly before his mother's death in Richmond, Virginia on December 8, 1811, his father abandoned the family. John Allen, a wealthy tobacco merchant in Richmond, brought Poe into the family (at his wife's request), and gave him the middle name Allen as a baptismal name, though he never formally adopted him. Even though Allen ´s treatment toward Poe is not exactly known, we know that Allen never treated Poe with sensitivity. In 1815, the Allen family moved to England on business. There, Poe entered the Manor-House School in Stoke-Newington, a London suburb. This school taught him the gothic architecture and historical landscape of the region made a deep imprint on his youthful imagination, which would effect his adult writings (Levin, 14). The Allens left England in June 1820, and arrived in Richmond on August 2. Here, Poe entered the English and Classical School o f Joseph H. Clarke, a graduate of Trinity College in Dublin. On February 14, 1826, Poe entered the University of Virginia. Though he spent more time gambling and drinking than studying, he won top honors in French and Latin. On May 26, 1827, Poe enlisted in the US Army under the name Edgar A. Perry. He joined Battery H of the 1st Artillery, then stationed at Fort Independence. While Poe served there, Calvin F.S. Thomas printed Poe's first book, Tamerlane and Other Poems, a slim volume, which failed to earn any fame or money. Poe then visited Baltimore, and arranged for the printing of another slim volume, entitled Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems. Then, Allen obtained an appointment for him as a cadet, so on July 1, 1830 he entered West Point Military Academy, making his residence at No.