Edgar Allan Poe
Psychopath? Or literary genius
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, in Boston Massachusetts, and died on October 7, 1849. Edgar was one of three children and was the middle child. When he was very young his father left his family, and when he was three, his mother died.
Poe was soon taken into the family of Frances and John Allan, but was never offically adopted. Poe went to the University of Virginia, but could only stay for one semester because of financial reasons. Unable to support himself he enrolled into the army under the name of "Edgar A. Perry"
After being in the military for some time, he returned to his fiancee Elmira Royster, but he had discovered that in his absence she had married another man. Poe followed his dream as a writer, and began to write many short stories. Poe also helped create a new newsletter known as "The Messenger." He also became a critic with a reputation to attack the authors and even insult them. Unfortunately, Poe's Uncle had passed, but he inherited a sum of money which helped him write "The Raven." This poem helped Poe become recognized, and began to draw in crowds.
How he changed the literary world
His minor success encouraged him to demand that he was payed more for his work on "The Messanger," which was the most popular magazine in the south, thanks to the writings of Poe. He was seen as the inventor of science fiction, and he changed the way people thought of horror. Before Poe's work, there was very little expression in writing, and had lots of guidelines, but he stretched the limits.