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Selected Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
Creative, sensitive, mercurial - if these words describe the elements of true genius, then Edgar Allan Poe was its tortured personification.
Unsurpassed in the artufl fusion of the weird and macabre with the poetic and romantic and in the creation of the incisive, colorful image... Poe's singular talents remain unchallenged.
Which was Poe primarily - story writer or poet? The duality of his art is well exemplified by such memorable tales as the foreboding Fall of the House of Usher, the coolly logical Purloined Letter. And who has not been moved by the somber beauty of his poem The Raven, the simplicity and purity of his paean to Helen?
The stories and poems selecgted for this volume give a true picture of Poe's artistry and genius.
Unsurpassed in the artufl fusion of the weird and macabre with the poetic and romantic and in the creation of the incisive, colorful image... Poe's singular talents remain unchallenged.
Which was Poe primarily - story writer or poet? The duality of his art is well exemplified by such memorable tales as the foreboding Fall of the House of Usher, the coolly logical Purloined Letter. And who has not been moved by the somber beauty of his poem The Raven, the simplicity and purity of his paean to Helen?
The stories and poems selecgted for this volume give a true picture of Poe's artistry and genius.
Paperback
Published January 1, 1980
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About the author
Edgar Allan Poe
9,885 books28.6k followersThe name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name.
The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_al...
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 30, 2016
The only book of Poe that I own...its highly enlightening and influenceal for me. Will keep this book with me through out my life.
August 11, 2021
Was Edgar Allan Poe a “story writer or a poet” is the question posed on the back cover of this collection of ten of his stories and seventeen of his poems. I read the poems first and came away with the impression of a romantic master of words, phrases and content equal to the great European romantics. How can one not be entranced by the meter, diction and atmosphere of “The Raven”? Each poem deserves repeated study to be fully appreciated. In comparison, his stories, though many are highly original in concept and plot, I found less interesting, maybe because his ideas have been adopted and enhanced by later writers. For example, “Murders in the Rue Morgue”, “Mystery of Marie Roget,” “Purloined Letter,” and “Gold Bug” are proto-detective stories looking forward to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Generally, I find Poe to be too analytical and detailed. “Purloined Letter” is the best of the group because it is brief and least predictable. After reading the first four horror stories, I realized he was fascinated by entombing the living. In summary, Poe had an exceptional imagination and writing style, which fully flower in his poetry.
March 26, 2025
I found this yellowed 50 cent paperback from 1962 on my bookshelves and decided to give Poe another go. My maiden name was even in the front cover! Ah, nostalgia! I'm not sure I read this back in 1962 (much too young, of course!), but I was reading The Chicago Tribune about this time for guests, at my parents' request (not the guests, I'm sure). They were so amazed at the Chicago school system's phonics method and my sapping it all up like a spring sappling--well, it seemed the thing to do at the time.
I'm really not a fan of Poe's short stories or even the poems because the subject matter is too gruesome and macabre, especially the stories. Dupin, the armchair detective in many of the stories, so philosophized and explained to death his reasoning that I didn't even care for the solution to the murder by the time he got done. Sentences were even longer and more convoluted than mine, and the words archaic and required a dictionary too many times. However this is mid-19th century writing style, and Poe is, well, Poe. His poems are rhythmic, so despite the subject matter, are like music to the ears. I recommend giving Poe a try if you haven't already. There's no one else like him!
I'm really not a fan of Poe's short stories or even the poems because the subject matter is too gruesome and macabre, especially the stories. Dupin, the armchair detective in many of the stories, so philosophized and explained to death his reasoning that I didn't even care for the solution to the murder by the time he got done. Sentences were even longer and more convoluted than mine, and the words archaic and required a dictionary too many times. However this is mid-19th century writing style, and Poe is, well, Poe. His poems are rhythmic, so despite the subject matter, are like music to the ears. I recommend giving Poe a try if you haven't already. There's no one else like him!
September 19, 2017
You get to enjoy some of his best stories and poems in this Airmont Collection.
I absolutely loved the horror tales:
The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of House Usher, The Black Cat - in short stories.
The Raven, Ulalume, The Valley of Unrest, The Sleeper - in poems.
Found the murder mystery series tad boring.
I absolutely loved the horror tales:
The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of House Usher, The Black Cat - in short stories.
The Raven, Ulalume, The Valley of Unrest, The Sleeper - in poems.
Found the murder mystery series tad boring.
March 28, 2021
3.5 stars
November 15, 2023
A collection that should be required reading and includes all of the greatest hits like The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Cask of Amontillado (which was my pick for favorite). I had no idea that The Murders in the Rue Morgue is considered the first detective story, and you can clearly see the influence of Dupin on Sherlock Holmes, who didn’t come around until almost 50 years later! Poe is a master of tone and suspense, and I think his works will still be accessible many years in the future.
I couldn’t give a higher score because The Mystery of Marie Roget was overlong, tedious to get through, and made up a sizable chunk of this book. Also the Gold Bug, while a pretty cool story, played up some cringworthy stereotypes of the era that do not hold up well today.
I couldn’t give a higher score because The Mystery of Marie Roget was overlong, tedious to get through, and made up a sizable chunk of this book. Also the Gold Bug, while a pretty cool story, played up some cringworthy stereotypes of the era that do not hold up well today.
September 30, 2013
Edgar Allan Poe is known as a famous poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, literary critic and publisher. He played a major role in the romantic American literature history. Although he is mostly known for his gruesome and obscure stories, he was one of the pioneer of the short story and also regarded as the inventor of the new detective-fiction genre. Poe was the first renowned writer who made his living through his writings only due to which there were many financial difficulties throughout his career.
The fundamental reason of Poe’s writing can be traced back to his tragic life story. Every woman he was in love was the victim of plague or tuberculosis. It can be witnessed that Poe has refereed to "red plague" in many of his works, as well as focus on the destruction of beauty, love and innocence, refer to the death of these women.
Poe's works were carefully planned out. He owned and controlled his writings altogether. He was able to introduce a substantial number of literary devices and plot elements to help achieve his preconceived result. The lack of detail and absence of background information helps drive the reader to focus on the actions, moreover, the pace is fast, the story is short, and is read keenly until the end. Read full review here
The fundamental reason of Poe’s writing can be traced back to his tragic life story. Every woman he was in love was the victim of plague or tuberculosis. It can be witnessed that Poe has refereed to "red plague" in many of his works, as well as focus on the destruction of beauty, love and innocence, refer to the death of these women.
Poe's works were carefully planned out. He owned and controlled his writings altogether. He was able to introduce a substantial number of literary devices and plot elements to help achieve his preconceived result. The lack of detail and absence of background information helps drive the reader to focus on the actions, moreover, the pace is fast, the story is short, and is read keenly until the end. Read full review here
November 10, 2016
Solid little collection of Poe classics. Cask of Amontillado and A Tell Tale Heart are the true draws to this set. The Dupin mysteries are not as stellar but the poetry section that heads off with The Raven more then make up for it.
May 6, 2020
Took a while to get into Poe's writing style but once I did most of the stories were quite good, particularly the Tell Tale Heart short story. The ocassional poems were also great. Some of the stories just had a boring plot however and were a bit tiresome to read.
April 1, 2014
Poe, ladies and gentlemen, the Master of Macabre.
February 19, 2015
Love poe's work..
January 7, 2024
Book #48 of 2021. "Selected Stories and Poems" by Edgar Allan Poe. 3/5 rating.
This is a collection of some of Poe's most famous stories.
If you have never read any of Poe, I would recommend it just to understand this renowned American author. He obviously lived a very tragic life. His stories are dark, macabre, and so often focused on moribund characters. I wouldn't necessarily say you need to read all of this book, or even most of it, but I think it is important to read some of those who are considered to be "the greats".
With stories like "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Gold Bug" and poems like "The Raven" this book included all of his stories from a favorite game of my family's: "Authors"!
Just be prepared, as Death is ever present.
This is a collection of some of Poe's most famous stories.
If you have never read any of Poe, I would recommend it just to understand this renowned American author. He obviously lived a very tragic life. His stories are dark, macabre, and so often focused on moribund characters. I wouldn't necessarily say you need to read all of this book, or even most of it, but I think it is important to read some of those who are considered to be "the greats".
With stories like "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Gold Bug" and poems like "The Raven" this book included all of his stories from a favorite game of my family's: "Authors"!
Just be prepared, as Death is ever present.
December 10, 2024
some stories were super boring and others I couldn't put down until I got to the end.
May 24, 2024
Stole this from my dad - wish I read this around Halloween, what a haunting little collection
November 23, 2016
Edgar Allen Poe has some unique stories. A few of them centered around a man driven mad by his acute senses. These characters seemed real enough, though eccentric. They reminded me of the American Psycho type. My favorite: The Black Cat.
The other main character type was like a Sherlock solving mystery with acute intelligence or reasoning (or "ratiocination" as he called it). I enjoyed the puzzle-solving; I did not enjoy the tedium of detail. The best of these was The Gold Bug because the reasoning was situated well within story, giving readers two strong reasons to continue: mystery and narrative.
One theme I noticed in Poe's stories is the logical explanation for everything supernatural. In other words, we humans cook up our own fancies to see scary coincidences, spiritual interference, and death's hand.
I'm not a huge fan of the poetry. The Raven was fun, but not something I'd go back to again and again. Also, Poe took to a high register and local references that lost me; still, I enjoyed the stories. You are a dark man, Poe.
The other main character type was like a Sherlock solving mystery with acute intelligence or reasoning (or "ratiocination" as he called it). I enjoyed the puzzle-solving; I did not enjoy the tedium of detail. The best of these was The Gold Bug because the reasoning was situated well within story, giving readers two strong reasons to continue: mystery and narrative.
One theme I noticed in Poe's stories is the logical explanation for everything supernatural. In other words, we humans cook up our own fancies to see scary coincidences, spiritual interference, and death's hand.
I'm not a huge fan of the poetry. The Raven was fun, but not something I'd go back to again and again. Also, Poe took to a high register and local references that lost me; still, I enjoyed the stories. You are a dark man, Poe.
May 30, 2010
The way I feel about Poe's writing is that he has good ideas, but they way he tells his stories doesn't really work for me and most of his poetry is a bit too much. There's too many words to tell one thing, too much exposition and not enough happening, and too much telling and not enough showing.
January 26, 2016
I love Poe and I love reading his works during the fall. I always recommend reading his stories.
March 9, 2016
My father bought this book when he was in high school and handed it down to me. It was my first book of Poe and my most cherished of his work.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews