Who Was Edgar Allan Poe? – One of the most original American writers of all time.
Edgar Poe (1809-1849) was born in
Boston, Massachusetts. When he was two, his father left the family and soon
after his mother developed tuberculosis and died.
Edgar and his sister, each were
taken by a wealthy Virginia family and lived closed to each other. So they
spent time together. Their older brother was taken by grandparents who lived in
Baltimore. They saw him once or twice a year and constantly exchanged letters.
Edgar was sent to school when he
was five years old. He was a good student and he was liked by other students.
He was good at languages and science, but at his heart was poetry.
Edgar poked fun at the business
world in his poems. Maybe because his foster father, John, wanted him to go
into business. John didn’t know how to be a loving father. The warmth and love
Edgar received came from his foster mother Fanny.
At seventeen, he began classes at
University of Virginia. He quickly became popular among students as he
entertained them with reciting poetry or telling stories he made up himself.
But he lasted only one year there as his foster father refused to give him more
money.
Edgar didn’t like working for his
foster father. So he moved to Boston where he tried to make a living by
writing. It didn’t go well, so he enlisted in the army. He quickly rose in the
ranks to the highest rank. With the help of his foster father, he was admitted
to the West Point, NY. However, he didn’t like the rigid life and got kicked
out.
Before West Point, he already lost
his foster mother to tuberculosis, and the fiasco with the West Point ended his
contact with his foster father.
Nevertheless, he vowed to make a
name for himself. He dropped his last name Allan – of his foster parents and
used Poe – the last name he was born with.
In 1831, he moved to Baltimore
where he reunited with his grandmother and brother.
During his time, not too many
writers were successful to make a living by writing. He still insisted on
joining those few. The same year, he published his poems thanks to the fellow
cadets at West Point who covered the cost.
In 1833, he entered a competition
at Baltimore newspaper and won both contests for a poem and a story. He began
making a name for himself.
In 1835, he became an editor for a
magazine in Richmond. The same year, his short story in science-fiction was
printed in a magazine.
Meanwhile, he married his cousin
Virginia and they had a happy marriage.
He became successful as editor but that
left little time for his writing. So he left this position and moved to
Philadelphia to concentrate on his writing.
In 1838, his first and only novel
was published, but it didn’t receive good reviews. He preferred writing short
stories, but they were not selling.
In 1839, he published a gothic
story in a magazine which became very popular and made him famous. Despite that
he was still struggling to make a living. Thus, he returned to work as editor
and continued to write stories. He wrote the very first detective mystery which
became very popular.
He never stayed long in one place.
He switched jobs frequently, either he quit or was fired.
Virginia went through tuberculosis
which killed his mother, foster mother and brother; seeing his wife going
through the sickness made him depressed.
The decade of 1840s was one of the
most successful of his life.
In 1845, The Raven made him a
celebrity.
In 1847, Virginia died and it made
him very depressed and took toll on him.
On October 3, 1849, he was found
outside a tavern in Baltimore nearly unconscious. No one knows how he got there
and what happened to him. He died four days later.
This biography exemplifies a man
who stood steadfast in his dream of becoming a writer even if during his time
only a small number of them were able to make a living as writers. He was a
complex man, deeply scarred by losing his parents at a very young age. It was
even more deepened by loses of the people dear to him, and it was always the
same claim – tuberculosis. Later in his life, it did take toll on him as he was
battling depression. Nevertheless, he achieved what he set to do, and became
very well known for it. His life is also a great example of how we should be
careful not to judge others, instead taking time to get to know another human
being.
Source: Penguin Workshop, 2022
TRENDING INSPIRATION:
Traits:
·
He was a good student
but from young age poetry was at his heart.
·
He didn’t like any
rigid structure which is typical for those who like the freedom of writing.
·
During his time, not too many writers were successful to make
a living by writing. He still insisted on joining those few.
·
When he won a competition for a poem at Baltimore newspaper,
he began to make a name for himself.
·
He became successful as editor but that left little time for
his writing. So he was constantly changing jobs in order to do what fit him the
best.
·
He tried different genres in writing: poetry, short story,
novel, gothic until he found what fit him the best and became well-read
FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:
How to Be the Love You Seek: Break Cycles, Find Peace, and Heal Your Relationships by Nicole LePera
Relationships have
always been essential to human survival. Yet they are often at the root of our
deepest suffering. Our hearts crave relationships, but our nervous systems
responds to threat and negativity because our nervous systems store all our
past hurts and disappointments.
It’s not what we were told before - that it’s about compromise. Compromise
leads to resentment. It’s about healing our past wounds.
Dr. LePera’s holistic approach to psychology, has attracted an international
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She teaches how to recognize our unmet needs from our earliest relationships
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This last book of trilogy shows the way out of trauma bonds and into respectful
and compassionate relationships.
There are no perfect partners or relationships. (We’ve been fed too many
romantic relationships).
The important step is to turn inward: learning who we are, what made us the way
we are, why are we reactive to certain scenarios.
Once you understand yourself, then you can shift to a fulfilling relationship.
For some of us, it’s learning how to set boundaries and rejecting relationships
with people who are just the takers. (If you’re familiar with how energy works.
It all aligns. Meaning, we need to learn how to give and receive, and learn how
to recognize just takers).
The author’s success is based on her own journey of discovery and healing, and
how she went from a scientific mind, meaning a very academic, mechanistic
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to discovering soul and our connection to it through energetic field.
Despite becoming very successful, she felt consciously aware of how
disconnected and unsure she felt about herself – who she was and what she
wanted. Her journey began with realizing she didn’t share an emotional
connection with her family, especially mom.
She used to say immediately yes to everyone, never considering her physical or
emotional well-being, because she never wanted to come across as selfish.
She had to learn how to deal with uncomfortable feelings. For the first time,
she saw that the most important relationship she had was with herself. She had
to be honest with herself about her deepest needs and desires, breaking some of
the conditioned habits.
We can be our authentic Self when we’re meeting our needs in three categories:
1. Physical needs: nourishing our body.
2. Emotional needs: to feel safe to express ourselves and to connect with and
be supported by others.
3. Spiritual needs: connecting with our passion, purpose, creativity and
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The author presents her shift, how she observed her own behavior and then
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There is so much more in this book which is a wealth of wisdom.
She also talks about nervous system ladder composed of four groups: connector,
distractor, pleaser, detacher.
She delves more into our nervous system containing Seven Conditioned Selves:
caretaker, overachiever, underachiever, rescuer/protector, life of the party,
yes person (people-pleaser), hero worshiper.
She explains how to use body consciousness to witness our emotions and how to
align ourselves. Heart coherence occurs when brain, heart and emotions are
aligned. Thus, leading to synchronicity.
She gives examples of breathing, grounding yourself in nature, and boundary
setting.
For those into holistic approach, this is an excellent guidebook.
