One Man’s Stew
Edgar Allen Poe
By Ed Lusch

     “Hark the raven/nevermore.” Is this not the most recognizable line in the history of American poetry? Yet the author of that magnificently Gothic poem, “The Raven” and dozens of other poems which run the gambit from terrifying to hauntingly lyrical, “Ulalume,” “Annabelle Lee,” is not remembered as one of the most appealing American poets, but rather for his detective and horror stories such The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Purloined Letter and macabre death-tales like The Fall of the House of Usher, The Mask of the Red Death, and of course, Gothic horror stories including The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Telltale Heart.
     In fact, we learned in our high school literature classes that Edgar Allen Poe literally invented the detective story and pretty much constructed the short story as it is written today. But just as Stephen King is known for his often brutal horror stories, and rarely given credit as an outstanding novelist (Shawshank Redemption, Stand by Me, The Green Mile, etc.,) Poe is settled in our memories as the guy who penned scary stuff and not the emotionally charged, hopelessly romantic poet that he truly was.
     Both of these writer’s claim to fame is as masters of the bizarre. But few people realize their “core” writing talent is in their unmasked sensitivity. And moviemakers have recognized the eclectic writing talent of both these American icons by producing scores of movies based on their short stories, novels and poetry.
     In fact, Vincent Price made his living portraying characters from Poe’s stories. And many stars—Robbins, Freeman, Sutherland, and others had breakout performances in King-based movies. But while Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe’s writing talents spanned a multitude of genre, their personal lives were in many ways polar opposites. The eccentric King, having beaten back the demons of drug and alcohol addiction, leads a seemingly normal life (within, of course, the confines of his enormous wealth and celebrity). While equally eccentric Poe became absolutely mired in opium and alcohol addiction and their concurrent consequence: Impoverishment. Sucked into a vortex of poverty and life-long chemical addiction, Poe plunged further into despair by marrying his 13-year old cousin. As Jerry Lee Lewis would tell you, drugs, alcohol, and 13-year -old cousins are a bad combination.
     It is a pity that Poe has always been considered somewhat sophomoric by many professors of American literature and rarely given the credit for his innovations, technique, and poetic fluidity that he so richly deserves. In Europe, Poe was a cult hero to many writers such as Baudelaire, Jules Verne, and George Bernard Shaw who saw a depth and sophistication to Poe’s imagination and developed a profound appreciation for him as a writer of great range and technique. When Baudelaire, translated Poe into French in 1854, Jules Verne became a huge fan and wrote his first-ever story, “The Clockmaker Who Lost His Soul,” borrowing the structure and technique of Poe.
     Poe died in 1849, a drug-addicted pauper, and literary historians claim, clinically insane. During his tumultuous life of 40 years, he penned classic horror stories perhaps only a madman could conjure up. And poetry Annabelle Lee’s Angels would cry over Evermore!