Who Was Edgar Allan Poe? by Jim Gigliotti

 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: Keep searching for what brings you joy. Edgar Poe kept searching for what brought him joy to write and what resonated with readers.

  

 

 

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

 

 

 “Men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence.” – Edgar Allan Poe

 

 

 

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 audience of millions, which offers a new path to healing our relationships.

She teaches how to recognize our unmet needs from our earliest relationships (parents, caregivers, friends) which create our current dysfunctional relationship patterns.

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 outlook on the world – if it’s not scientifically proven, then it’s not real - 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 imagination.

The author presents her shift, how she observed her own behavior and then reconnected with her soul which is the best testament to what she teaches about.

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.