Poe at 200 — Eerie After All These Years

By JOHN J. MILLER

On a snowy night toward the end of his life, Edgar Allan Poe delivered a lecture on the origins of the universe. It was an unusual topic — Poe was always more interested in death than birth — and the reviews were mixed. Frustrated by the response, Poe announced that 2,000 years would pass before his work was properly admired.

His remarks were soon published as “Eureka: A Prose Poem.” The book sold a few hundred copies and then slipped into obscurity, forgotten except for the fact that its author went on to become a giant of American literature in something less than two millennia.

It remains to be seen whether anyone will read Poe in the distant future. As we approach the bicentennial of his birth on Jan. 19, however, it’s obvious that Poe is far from “nameless here for evermore.”

Hardly anyone escapes from high-school English without bumping into at least a little Poe. “The Raven” remains one of the world’s most popular poems as well as the inspiration for the name of Baltimore’s professional football team. “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Black Cat,” and a number of other short stories are among the most anthologized tales ever written.

An awful lot of Poe looms on the horizon. On Jan. 16, the Postal Service will issue a stamp in his honor. Historic sites in Baltimore, the Bronx, Philadelphia and Richmond, Va., are kicking off year-long celebrations. Publishers plan to take advantage of the bicentennial, too. In October, Doubleday put out “Poe’s Children,” a collection of horror stories by the likes of Neil Gaiman and Stephen King. The Mystery Writers of America has just released two additional volumes: “In the Shadow of the Master” includes 16 of Poe’s greatest hits, plus commentaries by best-selling novelists such as Michael Connelly and Joseph Wambaugh; “On a Raven’s Wing” features original tales by Mary Higgins Clark and others, each inspired by Poe.

Praise for Poe is by no means universal. The reviews always have been mixed, even on large questions about his legacy. “Enthusiasm for Poe is the mark of a decidedly primitive stage of reflection,” sniffed Henry James.

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