Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809 and both of his parents died by the time he was 3 years old. He was adopted by a tobacco merchant but wanted to pursue poetry instead of business. Poe attended the University of Virginia but had to leave due to lack of funds. He then attended West Point military academy but was kicked out after 8 months. After publishing some works, Poe married his wife Virginia when he was 27 and she was 14, which was common at the time. Poe and Virginia later moved to New York where he continued writing and publishing until Virginia's death in 1845, which left him unable to write. Poe is known for inventing the modern detective story and themes of death in

1. Edgar Allan
Poe

2. His Life
•Born on January 19, 1809.
•By the time he was 3, both of his
parents had died.
•Tobacco merchant adopted him and
trained Poe to be a businessman.
•However, Poe did not want to be a
businessman, and by the age of 13
compiled enough poetry to publish.

3. •In 1862, Poe left Richmond to
attend the University of
Virginia.
•However, Poe was so poor
he had to return home.
•His heart was only to be
broken by his fiancé. (This is
a contributing factor to his
work.)

4. Moving on…
•Poe attended West
Point. A prestigious
military school.
•After attending the
school for 8 months,
he was kicked out.
(This is really bad!)

5. *After being kicked out of West Point, Poe publishes
his second book.

6. * Poe married his wife Virginia. At the times, he was 27
and she was 14 years of age. (Before you make noises
and say this is gross, this was common back then.)

7. New York
•Poe and Virginia
move to New York.
•He continues to
write and publish
works for magazines.
•He publishes his fist
book of short stories,
Tales of the
Grotesque and
Arabesque.

8. The Raven
* In January, 1845,
Poe publishes his
narrative poem, The
Raven. This work
makes Poe famous.

9. Tragedy
* Tragedy struck the
same year as the
publishing of The
Raven. Poe’s wife
passed away. He
was unable to write.

10. *Poe wrote and published several more works
before dying on October 7, 1849.

11. Fo’ Sho’ Poe
Facts
•Poe was credited with the invention of the modern day
detective story.
•Poe feared death. A common theme in his works are
his fear and uncertainties of it.
•*There are 15 theories regarding Poe’s death.