Poll

I feel unfaithful to Poe that this vote is difficult.

Maybe it's because Heart is long familiar and Night is new and novel.

Both times I've read Night, Capote's imagery overcomes me. I'm sitting in that dingy train car. I smell the reeking smoke and staleness, the spoiling discarded food, and my sinuses congest, my throat becomes scratchy and gummy. I tense and retract to prevent my legs, knees, and feet from brushing the sleazy carny pair. I feel her gin-soaked breath on my face and I'm repulsed. I hear the gin bottle clinking and her vulgar, boorish voice full of ominous, mocking jealousy and I want to scream at her, Let go of my wrist!

Both stories are told by writers with very distinctive styles. Both of them work, although "A Tree Of Night" works more on the level of character and description than plot. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is the more well-rounded story. For such a horrific subject it also manages to be a delightful read. I voted for "The Tell-Tale Heart"

Poe gets the vote here, but next time, I'll be voting against him.

These two stories are very different except for the fact that they are suspenseful - they start uneasy and the suspense builds until the end when it explodes. Tree of Night was new to me, and I liked it. So I'm going to vote for it.

If this gets much closer, I may revote.

Someone convince me to change my vote! I don't see the fuss over "A Tree of Night," which is undoubtedly a fault in me and not in the story. On the other hand, "The Tell-Tale Heart" didn't blow me out of the water, but it did take me by surprise how much richness Poe could work into 2,000 words.

Thomas wrote: "Someone convince me to change my vote! "

If you change your vote, I'll only change mine. I voted for Capote, but I won't let Poe lose, if I can help it.

Ha ha! I love the support for Capote's story here, and love that a few of you only did it because you could safely assume Poe's would still win.

I should have mentioned that you can never again read the story you don't vote for! It gets erased.

I can't vote against Poe... at least not yet. His tales of horror will never cease to be thrilling no matter how many times I read them. The hypnotic tension, the building crescendo always seems to overtake me while reading it and I feel as if I am the madman and want to scream: "Villains! dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here!"

"A Tree of Night" was also quite an enjoyable read and in my eyes would have beaten quite a few of the fortunate who have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.... It was just unfortunate to come up against a literary Duke (I know nothing about contemporary college basketball - Is Duke still a powerhouse?). Like in Poe's story, the growing tension is marvelous and if you identify with the beleaguered young lady, a very audible scream would be therapeutic at the end of the story. The literature of the grotesque will always have a place in my library.