Edgar Allan Poe

His Life•Born on January 19, 1809.•By the time he was 3, both of his parents had died. •Tobacco merchant adopted him and trained Poe to be a businessman. •However, Poe did not want to be a businessman, and by the age of 13 compiled enough poetry to publish.

•In 1862, Poe left Richmond to attend the University of Virginia. •However, Poe was so poor he had to return home. •His heart was only to be broken by his fiancé. (This is a contributing factor to his work.)

Moving on…•Poe attended West Point. A prestigious military school.•After attending the school for 8 months, he was kicked out. (This is really bad!)

*After being kicked out of West Point, Poe publishes his second book.

* Poe married his wife Virginia. At the times, he was 27 and she was 14 years of age. (Before you make noises and say this is gross, this was common back then.)

New York•Poe and Virginia move to New York. •He continues to write and publish works for magazines. •He publishes his fist book of short stories, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque.

The Raven* In January, 1845, Poe publishes his narrative poem, The Raven. This work makes Poe famous.

Tragedy* Tragedy struck the same year as the publishing of The Raven. Poe’s wife passed away. He was unable to write.

*Poe wrote and published several more works before dying on October 7, 1849.

Fo’ Sho’ Poe Facts

•Poe was credited with the invention of the modern day detective story. •Poe feared death. A common theme in his works are his fear and uncertainties of it. •*There are 15 theories regarding Poe’s death.