Does it surprise you to learn that Edgar Allan Poe “was most known in his day as a scathing literary critic, a cynical humorist, a writer of hoaxes, a literary philosopher, a Romantic poet, and a caustic satirist” (M. Grant Kellermeyer)? Do you perceive him as a gloomy and humorless drunkard who failed to gain fame in his lifetime? Do you know the many places he lived before he died in Baltimore? Do you know Abraham Lincoln’s connection with Poe or what the Poe Toaster is? Can you spell his name without looking? 

We’ll explore more Poe writings beyond the mostly macabre stories of the 2024 fall course by Mary Bernath, “Getting to Know Poe” (which inspired this class). From the genres mentioned in the Kellermeyer quote, as well as adventure and sci-fi genres, we’ll  learn there’s more to Poe’s life beyond common “mythconceptions”. We will also armchair travel to the several American cities and London where he lived and is memorialized through museums, houses and/or historic markers. And we’ll consider where we think Poe was successful or not in his life and beyond and why.