内容简介
Borntoanunfortunateheritage,orphaned,unsympatheticallyraised,andthenabandoned,EdgarAllanPoestruggledforgreatnessinanadversesocialandeconomicclimate--asettingnotimprovedbyhisfierytemperamentandcausticcriticismofothers.Poe'smelancholybrilliance,hispassionatelyricism,andhistormentedsoulwouldmakehimoneofthemostwidelyreadandoriginalwritersinAmericanliterature.Here,inonevolume,arehisclassicshortworks:masterpiecesofhorror,terror,humor,andadventure--andthefinestlyricandnarrativepoetryofthisill-fatedgeniuswhoseinfluenceonbothproseandversecontinuestothisday.PocketBooks'EnrichedClassicspresentthegreatworksofworldliteratureenhancedforthecontemporaryreader.ThiseditionofGreatTalesAndPoemsOfEdgarAllanPoecontainstheoriginalPocketBooksintroduction,firstpublishedin1951,alongwithanupdatedselectionofcriticalexcerpts,andsuggestionsforfurtherreadings.
作者简介
EdgarAllanPoe(January19,1809–October7,1849)wasanAmericanwriter,poet,editorandliterarycritic,consideredpartoftheAmericanRomanticMovement.Bestknownforhistalesofmysteryandthemacabre,PoewasoneoftheearliestAmericanpractitionersoftheshortstoryandisconsideredtheinventorofthedetective-fictiongenre.Heisfurthercreditedwithcontributingtotheemerginggenreofsciencefiction.Hewasthefirstwell-knownAmericanwritertotrytoearnalivingthroughwritingalone,resultinginafinanciallydifficultlifeandcareer.HewasbornasEdgarPoeinBoston,Massachusetts;hewasorphanedyoungwhenhismotherdiedshortlyafterhisfatherabandonedthefamily.PoewastakeninbyJohnandFrancesAllan,ofRichmond,Virginia,buttheyneverformallyadoptedhim.HeattendedtheUniversityofVirginiaforonesemesterbutleftduetolackofmoney.AfterenlistingintheArmyandlaterfailingasanofficer'scadetatWestPoint,PoepartedwayswiththeAllans.Poe'spublishingcareerbeganhumbly,withananonymouscollectionofpoems,TamerlaneandOtherPoems(1827),creditedonlyto"aBostonian".Poeswitchedhisfocustoproseandspentthenextseveralyearsworkingforliteraryjournalsandperiodicals,becomingknownforhisownstyleofliterarycriticism.Hisworkforcedhimtomovebetweenseveralcities,includingBaltimore,Philadelphia,andNewYorkCity.InBaltimorein1835,hemarriedVirginiaClemm,his13-year-oldcousin.InJanuary1845,Poepublishedhispoem"TheRaven"toinstantsuccess.Hiswifediedoftuberculosistwoyearslater.Hebeganplanningtoproducehisownjournal,ThePenn(laterrenamedTheStylus),thoughhediedbeforeitcouldbeproduced.OnOctober7,1849,atage40,PoediedinBaltimore;thecauseofhisdeathisunknownandhasbeenvariouslyattributedtoalcohol,braincongestion,cholera,drugs,heartdisease,rabies,suicide,tuberculosis,andotheragents.PoeandhisworksinfluencedliteratureintheUnitedStatesandaroundtheworld,aswellasinspecializedfields,suchascosmologyandcryptography.Poeandhisworkappearthroughoutpopularcultureinliterature,music,films,andtelevision.Anumberofhishomesarededicatedmuseumstoday.埃德加·爱伦·坡（EdgarAllanPoe），十九世纪美国诗人、小说家和文学评论家，在世时曾长期担任报刊编辑工作。其作品在任何时代都有着独一无二的风格。语言精致，形式优美，内容多样，他的小说被公认为短篇哥特小说的巅峰。他是侦探小说的鼻祖，科幻小说的先驱，也是恐怖小说大师。象征主义先行者。此外，爱伦·坡还是一个唯美主义者。
