What City did Poe turn from writing poetry (his first love) to writing poetry?

-- Anonymous, November 19, 2004

Answers

I think your question gott mangled somewhere between brain and keyboard. I suppose you might mean Poe's youthful poetry period that came to a crash after he left West Point. What happened I believe is that Poe offered books of poems to finance his leave-taking. His fellow cadets expected good old Poe satire of his teachers and felt defrauded by the outpourings of Poe's first Romantic efforts. These meant a great deal to Poe and he returned to these poems often. I think he lost some of his freedom and confidence and took instead to writing fiction in Baltimore.

www.eapoe.org should have timelines and texts. Eventually he won an award for his story "Ms Found in a Bottle" but was enraged when he came in second for his poem "Colisseum" feeling cheated that the editor awarded HIMSELF the prize. Fistfight ensued. I think that pretty much summarizes Poe's career. Success and money for the tales. Establishing his talent as a critic and magazine writer. Hardfought acclaim for poetry until "The Raven" broke through years later.

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2004