Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849) was an author and poet best known for his stunning short fiction. He is regarded by many literary experts as one of America’s earliest practitioners of the short story, the inventor of the detective story, and an important contributor to the science-fiction genre. Though his literary career began in poetry, he shifted focus to prose sometime around 1829. His beloved poem “The Raven” established him as a literary celebrity almost immediately. He is one of America’s first writers to have earned a living by his writing alone. His works of fiction, poetry, and literary criticism have influenced not only generations of writers but also popular culture on a global scale. Poe’s mysterious death in Baltimore, Maryland, at the untimely age of forty continues to be a source of scholarly speculation.
