Few Will Be Grieved

Linda Burton posting from Richmond, Virginia – “Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. This announcement will startle many, but few will be grieved.” Part of a long obituary published in the New York Tribune on October 9, 1849 and signed simply “Ludwig,” this unflattering piece was later published throughout the country. “Ludwig” was revealed as Rufus Griswold, who obviously didn’t like Poe very much; he later wrote a biographical article of Poe and depicted him as a depraved, drunk, drug-addled madman. Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) had his enemies and his critics, to be sure; yet today this American author and poet continues to influence literature around the world; his work appears throughout popular culture. He is generally considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre; every year the Mystery Writers of America presents the Edgar Award to someone for distinguished work in the mystery genre. He is further credited with contributing to the science fiction genre, and was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through his writing alone. A number of the homes Poe lived in are dedicated museums today; although he never lived in the Old Stone House in Richmond, it houses the Edgar Allen Poe Museum and displays many items Poe used during his time with his foster parents, John and Sarah Allan; it also features several rare first printings of his works. That’s where I went looking, looking, looking for some ghostly lingerings of this brooding man whose life so often focused on death. » read more