I recently read a fiction book by one of my favorite storytellers, Louis Bayard, where Edgar A. Poe was his muse. The main story in the book was fiction of course but I wondered when the author referred to Poe, was it real or fiction. So, I went online with the library and ordered a non-fiction book about the life of Poe.
Very interesting indeed to learn that most of what the L. Bayard wrote about his charactar's past was actually true of E.A. Poe. He was a drinker and often a drunk. He was an orphan. He was know to exaggerate about his accomplishments in life.
This is a very nice book for what I wanted. It is a short book and doesn't go on and on about Poe's daily life. It covers the interesting aspects of Poe's life and gives us a little insight into the life of a very accomplished writer who specialized in horror. A writer who thinks often about horrific events is a very unique person indeed. One would certainly think that a person like Poe would not be boring and his life story does not disappoint.
Well, I wrote the paragraph above before I had finished the book. Poe's life was interesting in that he was an orphan who was brought in and raised by a couple. He published his first book in his early 20's and he went on to write many more wonderful poems and stories. His life was boring and maddening in that he lived the same life over and over again. He could be smart but he was idiotic in that he every time he achieved a modicum of success he drank himself right out of a job and right back into poverty. I know, it happens in real life but BORING......... I thought there would be some deeper darkness lurking there than just getting drunk over and over and over again. Poe, what a smuck you were!
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