Looking for artists like Poe

[ajclinto]

I'm a huge fan of Edgar Allan Poe, having enjoyed all of his collected works. Though I've done a little searching for artists with a similar style and quality, I have unfortunately never found an author that I have enjoyed nearly as much. Could anyone recommend a few authors that would satisfy a die-hard Poe fan? The closest I've come on the horror front were H.P. Lovecraft and Mervyn Peake, and for mystery just Conan Doyle.

Thank you for any assistance,
Andrew

[Whifflingpin]

You might try Ambrose Bierce

[Dori]

You might try Ambrose Bierce

Oh, this is a must. :thumbs_up Start with some of his shorter works ("An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" comes to mind).

I'm not sure how effective this is, but it's fun to try: Literature Map (http://literature-map.com/).

[FacialFracture]

I've always grouped bits of Robert Browning and Nathaniel Hawthorne in with Poe, in terms of subject matter or mood (plus, I think they're from the same era). Maybe you've read a lot of their stuff already, but if not...

Try Browning's poems, "My Last Duchess" and definitely "Porphyria's Lover"--it has strangulation, so it's got to be good, right? If you haven't already, then read Hawthorne's The Birthmark, and/or Young Goodman Brown.

Oh, and, do you listen to Nick Cave? He has a whole album called "Murder Ballads," which consists of...well, ballads about murder. They're very lyrically clever. Maybe check that out too, if you aren't already familiar with him.

[stlukesguild]

The late 19th century was full of marvelous tales of the supernatural that share many similarities with Poe. You might look into the tales of Henry James, William Wilkie Collins, Robert Louis Stevenson and certainly Ambrose Bierce. Nathaniel Hawthorne is perhaps one of the best bets. Although near contemporaries the "atmosphere" of Hawthorne's work suggest a more stark New England rather than a more ornate Gothic of Poe. Both J.S. LeFanu and H.P. Lovecraft would also be marvelous counterparts to Poe. Perhaps Poe's greatest impact, however, was upon late 19th century French literature. Charles Baudelaire is known for his marvelous translations of Poe and a similar atmosphere certainly pervades his poetry. Perhaps the best correlation with Poe that I can immediately think of would be with Theophile Gautier. Gautier is a far underrated French journalist, poet, and short story writer. Baudelaire's great poetic collection, Les Fleurs du Mal, was dedicated to Gautier. Gautier's short stories are "dripping" in atmosphere. They have much that is very similar to Poe... but with an added European decadence and eroticism. I would certainly recommend the tales "One of Cleopatra's Nights", "Clarimonde, or the Beautiful Vampire" ("La Morte Amoureuse), "The Fleece of Gold", "Omphale", "the Mummy's Foot", etc... You many need to search at the library for Gautier as the translations of his works date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries... but he is worth the effort.

[Fowles27]

You might look into the tales of Henry James, William Wilkie Collins, Robert Louis Stevenson and certainly Ambrose Bierce.

Can you enlighten me about James' tales or short stories that share siminarities with Poe's?
I've read most of his well-known works, but none comes to mind other than The Turn of the Screw, which was really amazing.

[joywind]

I agree with stlukesguild about Poe's impact on French literature. I'd add J-K Huysman's Against Nature (A Rebours) if you are interested in a typical neurotic Poe-esque main character. You will discover that Lovecraft learned something there too (see for example the characters in The Hound).
Try some stories by Guy de Maupassant - The Horla; Was It a Dream?; Who Knows? - By the way he died a raving madman ( caused by syphilis).
Also stories by Villiers de l'Isle Adam.

I think that you might look into M.R. James's stories (not Henry J.), though they generally concern scholars and antiquaries - they are quite powerful.

Anything by Arthur Machen is great, also William Hope Hodgson, Walter de la Mare, Algernon Blackwood, Robert W. Chambers (mainly The King in Yellow).

Lots of this stuff isn't copyrighted anymore and can be downloaded legally from the Gutenberg Project.
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[PeterL]

Try Browning's poems, "My Last Duchess" and definitely "Porphyria's Lover"--it has strangulation, so it's got to be good, right?


"Porphyria's Lover" is open to question (Was there a strangulation?), which makes "Porphyria's Lover" more like Poe, who also wrote many stories and poems that are open to different interpretations. Quite a few of Poe's poems can be considered humorous verse, and some of is works are dramatic monologues: "William Wilson" among those.

[PeterL]

I was going to suggest Lovecraft and some of the other writers mentioned, but there is the question of what aspect of Poe's writing you like. He wrote a wide variety of stories from horror to humor and hoax. Even in writing style, he varied a lot.

[*_Annabel Lee_*]

you can try Charles Baudelaire. he's a poet who in Poe's poems found he's half-born thoughts. he's poetry is dark and full with misery. maybe you'll like him.

[quasimodo1]

Not wanting to come off the purist but no poet really does anything quite like Poe. Unique poetry with even more mysterious and profound unique meanings. Take "Ulalume" for example...never read anything even close. There are mysterious poets, avant-garde poets, spiritual poets; but then there is Poe. quasimodo1

[metal134]

I recommend J.S. Le Fanu.