Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19,1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. Poe never really knew his birth parents, his father left his family early in Edgars life and his mother died of tuberculosis when he was only three. Separated from his brother and sister Poe went to go live with John and Frances Allan in Richmond, Virginia. In 1826, Poe attended the University of Virginia where he succeeded in all of his classes. Unable to pay his college funds Poe got into gambling in hopes of making money but eventually became in debt. After returning home Poe faced another personal set back, his fiancà and neighbor Sarah Elmira Royster was engaged to someone else. Heartbroken and upset Poe moved to Boston. In 1827 after publishing his first book Edgar joined the U.S. Army. 2 years later he discovered that Frances Allan was dying from Tuberculosis and by the time he had gotten back to Richmond she had passed away at the age of 24 the same age Poe’s brother passed away. Poe eventually got into West Point and was successful in his studies but was kicked out after a year for poorly handling his duties. In 1835 he landed a editing position with Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. There he made a name for himself as a highly skilled editor. In that same year he married his 13 year old cousin Virginia Clemm. Shortly after Poe was dismissed from his job for drinking. Poe’s Alcoholism was a big part of his life because he needed a slight stimulant or function in large crowds. Though he rarely became intoxicated when he did it was in public causing people to assume he was a drug addict. According to his medical records Edgar had a brain leisure. In January of 1847 Poe’s wife Virginia passed away from tuberculosis at the age of 24. Edgar Allan Poe had a very successful life despite all he had gone through. Late September of 1849 he left Richmond for Baltimore and had some bad thoughts and feelings in his head. He later died from either drinking, heart failure, or other 21st century causes but the real reason why he died is unclear.

Edgar Allan Poe’€™s Greatest work was the Raven. This poem is influenced by his grief of losing his mother and his fiancé leaving him. His poem encapsulates the feeling of despair when you lose something that you are very close to. After feeling Heartbroken and alone Poe was unsure of what to do next in his life after losing these people that he was so close to. In this poem he expressed his loneliness, doubt, and heartache.

Here is part of one of the poems Poe wrote for his mother after she passed away.

Because I feel that, in the Heavens above,
The angels, whispering to one another,
Can find, among their burning terms of love,
None so devotional as that of “Mother,”
Therefore by that dear name I long have called you
You who are more than mother unto me,
And fill my heart of hearts, where Death installed you
In setting my Virginia's spirit free.
My mother—my own mother

Poe found peace is his poetry and writing. He used it to express his feelings and as a coping mechanism. Which leads me to my essential question.

As Poe grew up he faced many different life challenges and setbacks. With and unstable household and an inconsistent father figure Poe had no structure in his life.Losing his birth mother, foster mother, brother, and wife can be very traumatic along with his fiancé leaving him. During these tough times Poe turned to his poetry writing as a way of clearing his mind. Many of his short stories and poems are about his experiences in life such as losing a relative or his fiancé leaving him.

Like Poe when I am going through rough patches in my life I like to write it down whether its in a poem or its just in my notes. One of his most traumatic experiences was losing his mother to tuberculosis so he wrote a poem about it, one of my most traumatic experiences was losing my best friend to suicide and I have written several poems about that. I find peace is getting my thoughts and emotions off my chest by writing them down. I understand his logic behind writing about his traumatic experiences.

Poe established many things is American literature that we still refer to today. Two of his main accomplishments were that he was the first to write a horror story/established a the horror genre and he was one of the earliest writers to write science fiction books and and stories.

fun fact the Baltimore Ravens were named after Poe’s poem the raven.