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Thursday
Feb122009

A Poe lecture that Griswold would love

Came across this listing for a lecture in Baltimore tonight:

Michael Largo, author of "Genius and Heroin" and who observed in the 1980s how creative geniuses are prone to destructive behavior, speaks at the Maryland Historical Society on Edgar Allan Poe. In a talk titled "Feeding Poe's Muse: The Secret Obsessions of Edgar Allan Poe," Largo will entertainingly show how Poe's genius was entwined with self-ruin. Poe's favorite cocktails will be served. 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday; The Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument Street, Baltimore; $30 to $50.410-685-3750 ext. 319; www.mdhs.org

This is the kind of thing that serves only to perpeutate the untrue myth that Poe was a self-destructive drunk and drug addict. Listen up: Poe was NOT a drug addict. He did NOT smoke opium. Poe did have a drinking problem. However, he was certainly not a raving drunk, nor did he drink himself to death. Many of the accounts of Poe's drunkenness describe him as being UNable to function after drinking just a little bit. Take a look at Poe's corpus. He was constantly writing. He would have been unable to write had he been a souse. I know the description of Largo's talk does not say that Poe was a drunk and drug addict, but it certainly implies it. These are the kinds of lies that Rufus Griswold published about Poe after his death. And the stories just won't seem to go away.

Poe was a dedicated professional writer who never got a break.  His genius as a fiction writer, poet and literary critic challenged the way we read literature. "Self-ruin" wasn't Poe's problem. Poverty was. Had Poe made a third of what the hacks around him were making, perhaps he could have taken better care of his health and lived a longer, even more productive life.

Or you can believe the crap that Poe was some kind of destructive rock star whose "genius was entwined with self-ruin."  Poe was not Jim Morrison, folks. 

Wish I could go to Largo's talk, just to heckle, but check out that price: it'll cost you $30-$50 to hear this bullshit. That's some pricey crap.  Figures it's in Baltimore. 

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Reader Comments (2)

And I've gone ahead and sent them an email of reprimand. Ed, if you get a chance, just read the whopping three pages in Largo's book where he talks about Poe, then ask yourself how this guy is getting speaking appearances as a Poe "expert."
February 12, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterRob V
My first comment was much longer but doesn't seem to have saved. I did want to point out, though, that Griswold's birthday is tomorrow. Coincidence? Oh, and not to worry, I'll be blogging about Gris tomorrow.
February 12, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterRob V

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