Edgar Allen Poe

Today Jan.19th is the 200th birthday of Edgar Allen Poe,A personal favorite of mine.
He was born in Boston on Jan. 19,1809 to actors Elizabeth and David Poe,his mother died in 1811 and he was sent to live with a prosperous tobacco merchant and his wife John Allen.He attended private schools and then the University of Va.although he was a good student he left in less then a year because the Allen's refused to cover his gambling debts,they then disowned him.
Poe was the father of the modern detective story "The Murders In The Rue Morgue"was the model used for the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories and the modern detective stories of today.He believed stories should expand and drive the mind beyond its limitations.He is also one of the first writers to try to support him self through his writing and working in news papers.He died of mysterious circumstances on Oct.7,1849 at the age of 40 with little money due to his alcoholism.
I became acquainted with his writing when in high school I had to read "The Tell Tale Heart" from that moment on I knew this was a special writer and I was hooked.So whether you like or hate him he was a special person who lived a very short and tragic life but had a great deal of talent. Remember the Raven who said "never more,never more" for there will never be another writer like he.