Edgar Allan Poe Week! Happy Birthday, Mr Poe!

I was asked to guest post over on my friends’ channel BOOKISHFRIENDS this week.  The topic was “Celebrate Edgar Allan Poe’s Birthday”.  I was honored to do so! 

Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston.  His childhood was a shitty one to say the least.  His father left and his mother died shortly there after, leaving him orphaned.  This hard childhood filled with sadness will serve as the emotional background to one of the most influential authors in American history.  Poe went on to become an editor, a poet, and an author.  His works have inspired authors and poets, and helped launch and tone both the mystery and gothic genres.

In this video, I read  one of my favorite poems ALONE by Edgar Allan Poe.   The poem to me, goes to show how deeply depressed Poe was.  He spent his entire life feeling the outsider and suffered from severe depression.  

Poe’s death is still a mystery as he was found wondering the streets of Baltimore, delirious, in someone else’s closing, repeating the name “Reynolds”, on October 9, 1849. 

I asked my friend, Leigh M Lane, to join me in this video and explain how Poe influenced her book Finding Poe .