The marketing of Edgar Allan Poe

[...]... treatment of rhetoric, nationalism, and the role of the journalist I describe Poe s puncturing the bluster of Jacksonian and antebellum writers, doctors, and politicians while extending appeal to readers on both sides of the Atlantic In each of the light gothic tales, Poe 12 The Marketing of Edgar Allan Poe describes a pretentious alazon, or bearer of false pride and authority This figure is often accompanied... claims.52 In addition, most of Poe s light gothic protagonists reveal the foolishness of their own pretensions via their storytelling function In order to facilitate the widespread reprinting of these tales, Poe designed them to span the Atlantic Ocean in their indeterminacy of diction and setting For example, many of Poe s storytellers tell of their distress in the manner of Blackwood’s narrators; only... print articles they could obtain free of charge.46 Thus, the periodical reprint culture of the 1830s and 40s found Poe and his peers either involved in financial struggles or writing with the help 10 The Marketing of Edgar Allan Poe of a second income Poe s close attention to the workings of periodical reprint culture, evident from his earliest essays and tales, insured that his work would often be circulated... sought the maximization of social and personal rewards from the actions he studied, Poe s tale bluntly emphasizes the entertainment and enrichment of Mr Diddler alone Poe begins his diddler’s catalogue by defining man as “an animal that diddles.” The chief of the diddler’s virtues is the boldness with which he will help himself to more and more of other men’s goods: 22 The Marketing of Edgar Allan Poe. .. chin, 20 The Marketing of Edgar Allan Poe speaking, in its want of prominence, of a want of moral energy; The silken hair had been suffered to grow all unheeded (401–2) While to Twenty-First Century American readers the setting of “Usher” may be no more vivid than that of The Duc,” many of Poe s contemporaries would associate the preceding description with George Gordon, Lord Byron of Newstead... renders the source of the enormous chain that hangs down from above “lost, like the city of Boston, parmi les nues.” Poe s French refers not to the physical climate of Massachusetts’ capital but to the Transcendentalists’ alleged obscurity of expression The tale Poe found most successful with literary insiders, The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839), is far less specific than The Duc” in terms of setting... reprint the article.25 Poe s Composite Autobiography 23 Poe s distinction between diddling and banking may help clarify the role of the diddler in the transatlantic literary marketplace Like any successful business venture, diddling requires the minimization of risk and the maximization of profit (870) Thus while the majority of Poe s diddlers settle for low payment and easy egress from the scenes of their... convince readers of the merits of his brand of detective fiction, a project that has garnered both a large number of imitators and a diverse set of audiences.29 A Novelty Poe s anonymous review of his Tales for the Aristidean emphasizes the creation of pleasing wonder rather than perplexity in the minds of one’s readers: Poe s Composite Autobiography 25 The evident and most prominent aim of Mr POE is originality,... perished of an ortolan.” To be precise, the Duke has died of disgust at being served the rare bird minus its proper dressing Nevertheless, the Duke finds an escape in the devil’s legendary inability to refuse a game of cards and his own skillful stacking of the deck The good-natured jesting expressed via the figure of the Duke, including his astonishment at the Devil’s asking him to take off his clothes... bound together according to the wishes of the purchaser.43 Poe s own book publishing efforts included two unsuccessful editions of poetry as well as the more popular 1845 The Raven and other Poems He planned a volume, “Tales of the Folio Club,” which was rejected by Harper & Brothers among other publishers Poe s proposals for literary journals, The Penn Magazine (1840) and the Stylus (1848), were never . McGill’s nuanced application of book history reports that Poe s journalistic sleight -of- hand successfully 2 The Marketing of Edgar Allan Poe garnered the attention of American editors and audiences. of poetry as well as the more popular 1845 The Raven and other Poems. He planned a volume, “Tales of the Folio Club,” which was rejected by Harper & Brothers among other publishers. Poe s. well. As the proverb says, “He that would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry out the wealth of the Indies.” There is then creative reading, as well as creative writing. When the mind