Questions for those willing to answer

[jimmyman]

Hello to everyone in the forum…

My name is James, and I am college student who is writing a paper on Edgar Allan Poe.

As part of my research for this essay, I would like to conduct something of a pseudo interview for those of you who would like to participate.

As a general outline, my paper will make an argument on why EAP should remain included in modern literary canon.

Edgar Allan Poe’s works mean different things to different people. What they mean today may even be different from what they meant over a hundred years ago, but that has not diminished their sometimes horrific qualities.

What does EAP and his stories mean to you and why? If you want to talk about a particular story, poem or letter, that is fine.

His insight into the workings of the human mind was nuanced to say the least. He seemed to have a general working knowledge of certain qualities in mankind that could be stretched to their limits and beyond.

Why do you think he understood the mind and/or soul of humanity the way he did?

Do you think he was mad, or just misunderstood and why?

What do you think of his emotional well-being?

How do you think his somewhat tormented relationships with other reflected in his stories and poems?

What is you favorite work of his and why?

Most importantly why do you think he wrote? Was it because he could be considered a failure in other areas of this life?

If you would prefer not to post your responses to this board, you can e-mail them directly to me if you like, at [email protected] or [email protected] If you choose to do that, just put POE in the subject line so I do not accidentally delete it.

I only ask first and last name, age, and gender. You can remain anonymous of you like, and I won’t have a problem with that. Before responding, please know that I may quote some of whatever you say, but I will do my best to never block quote anyone. Of course the e-mails will be saved and / or printed as material used for reference purposes. Please do not respond with anything which will be heavily laced with profanity, as I can do that on my own if need be.

[Jackman]

Hi Jimmy,

It does my heart good to see college students tackling the subject of Poe. I would attempt to provide some personal insight, based upon your questions.

How is it that Edgar Poe's words, penned over 150 years ago, can reach across time and speak directly to me? Perhaps in the same way the recordings of Jimi Hendrix speak to guitarists to this day, many of whom laud Jimi as "the best," not so much because the trained ear can detect subtleties, but because any listener can actually experience what this artist was feeling at that moment in time. Jimi's mechanical genius commingled with rage, human frailty, emotion, confidence, and doubt. Much it is the same with Poe's words, and me.

In an anthology of fugitive Poe writings entitled The Unknown Poe, published in 1980 (City Lights Books), Poe writes two paragraphs that perhaps help explain his ability to connect with everyday, non-scholarly people. He wrote:

"If any ambitious man have a fancy to revolutionize, at one effort, the universal world of human thought, human opinion, and human sentiment, the oppotunity is his own - the road to immortal renown lies straight, open, and unencumbered before him. All he has to do is to write and publish a very little book. Its title should be simple - a few plain words - "My Heart Laid Bare." But - this little book must be true to its title.

"Now, it is not very singular that, with the rabid thirst for notoriety which distinguishes so many of mankind - so many, too, who care not a fig what is thought of them after death, there should not be found one man having sufficient hardihood to write this little book? To write, I say. There are ten thousand men who, if the book were once written, would laugh at the notion of being disturbed by its publication during their life, and who could not even conceive why they should object to its being published after their death. But to write it - there is the rub. No man dare write it. No man could write it, even if he dared. The paper would shrivel and blaze at every touch of the fiery pen."

Perhaps more than any author, Poe revealed his true self through his writing. Like many, I used to absently regard him as a pioneer of the horror and mystery genre spawning the likes of Lovecraft and King. Then I picked up his complete works, and things really started to connect with me. As I explored his life, things started to gel; from where was all of this pain coming? Who IS this lost Lenore? Poe dared to write "the little book."

Musically, his words are unparalleled. Consider, before audio and video recording, communication from one generation to another was accomplished by storytelling. The stories and words needed to resonate sufficiently so that someone with an average memory could pass them along, and down, unchanged, so that even if, as we know with generations of photocopies (copy of a copy of copy) some subtleties are changed or even lost, open to interpretation by the reader/listener, that the meat of the story is sufficiently musical and complete as to withstand the test of time. Jesus knew this, and mastered the art of storytelling. Arguably, so did Edgar Poe. One of the best ways, I think, to acquaint one's self with Poe's work is to purchase recordings of his stories and poems as read by fine professional orators. The musical quality of The Bells, for example, is no where near as effective on paper as it is when recited. Many of Poe's stories - for example Eleanora and The Raven - are literally meant to be communicated orally. Over 150 years later, those words speak directly to me. I can feel the author's state of mind as he penned them. I slip inside his roiling mind. Poe was, if nothing else, brutally honest, with himself and his readers.

If I could travel back anywhere in time and spend 5 days, one each, with any historical figure of my choosing, I would spend a day with EA Poe. I have so many questions for him.

Wishing you success with your college program.

Jackman