As we enter September we start to think about the changing of seasons, into Autumn, which evokes the natural changes of atmosphere and weather. We start to ponder those spooky tales and days when tricks and treats could be filled with a sense of terror. When we think of stories riddled with intrigue and murder, you likely think of Edgar Allan Poe. He is perhaps more popular today than he was in his own time (1809-1849), but why is it that he is popular amidst his tales of terror? He has a truly imaginative stance in his style and story-telling. Poe felt that reading should be delightful (and perhaps unexpected as some of his tales become), not instructional. This alone is a main reason he disliked and opposed Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, another writer in his time, and very well-loved. Poe harshly criticized Longfellow's writings as full of instruction, lacking anything unique, and possibly plagiarized (per Poe).
Poe and Longfellow were both Boston connected. Poe was born there, but had a tumultuous history with the city, mostly because it was full of the elite writers of the day (Longfellow, Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne) whom he opposed in their methods and beliefs. He explored his own way of writing, so he wasn't very fond of Boston or its writers. Though he and Longfellow did agree that Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Twice Told Tales" was worth praising. However, Poe continued to be critical of the literature being written, especially transcendentalist literature. He didn't believe there was a big problem with slavery so he was opposed to the abolitionists, too. When asked to speak publicly, or read a poem, he often did not present himself well, lacking a public presence that would have encouraged support. Poe seemed like he was on the edge of conflict whenever he spoke or wrote a critique.
Poe disliked Longfellow because of his instruction-moral-type writing which may have seemed to him formulaic and lacking in imagination, and he predicted that Longfellow (who was very often-read and popular in their time) would fade in the future. In a sense, he was right. Longfellow is not nearly as popular or read today, whereas Poe is. I wonder if Poe is more popular today then Longfellow was in their day. I reflect that I was assigned readings of Poe in middle-school, but not Longfellow. Though society in their time likely thought Poe was a wild, drunken, immoral poet focusing too much on macabre themes. Today, he's deemed as a poetic and storytelling great, and I don't disagree with that. He is worth reading and is a master in his genre. He writes vividly, imaginatively, and he creates a wonderfully spooky tale of the actions of humans caught in their murderous plights, perfect for those blustery Autumn nights lit by candles and a fireplace. But likewise, Longfellow is worth reading. He worked on a translation of Dante's Divine Comedy with his colleagues at Harvard and his poems are pieces of American history. It is so fun to connect these very different authors to the same time and place (19th century Boston), and learn more about their reactions, critiques, and writings based on how they were experiencing life in history. I love to make literary connections, if you couldn't tell, which always offers more to explore and learn about. It's the joy of reading.
