The Annotated Poe

Edgar Allan Poe is perhaps Americas most famous writer. Adapted many times to the stage and screen and an inspiration to countless illustrators, graphic novelists, and musicians, his tales and poems remain a singular presence in popular culture. (His most famous poem inspired the name of the NFLs Baltimore Ravens.) And then there is the matter of Poes literary influence. How many things come out of Poe? Jorge Luis Borges once asked. And yet Poe remains misunderstood, his works easily confused with the legend of a troubled genius. Now, in this annotated edition of selected tales and poems, Kevin J. Hayes debunks the Poe myth, enables a larger appreciation of Poes career and varied achievements, and investigates his weird afterlives. With color illustrations and photographs throughout, The Annotated Poe contains in-depth notes placed conveniently alongside the tales and poems to elucidate Poes sources, obscure words and passages, and literary, biographical, and historical allusions. Like Poes own marginalia, Hayess marginal notes accommodate multitudinous opinion: he explains his own views and interpretations as well as those of other writers and critics, including Poe himself. In his Foreword, William Giraldi provides a spirited introduction to the writer who produced such indelible masterpieces as The Fall of the House of Usher, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Black Cat. The Annotated Poe offers much for both the professional and the general readerbut it will be especially prized by those who think of themselves as Poe aficionados.