Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849) was honored by society in a way we might expect for a great artist: he was expelled from school and unrecognized in his own time. This volume contains all of his 73 short stories and 52 poems. As with many writers, Poe's works are classified into his early period and his later period. The volume separates his 21 early poems from his 31 later poems. Edgar Allan Poe wrote a play called The Politian which was never published during his lifetime; it is included. The volume also contains his essays The Poetic Principle (19 pages) and The Rationale of Verse (35 pages). In his Preface to the Poems , Poe wrote, "With me poetry has not been a purpose but a passion; and the passion should be held in reverence; they must not -- they cannot at will be excited, with an eye to the paltry compensations, or the more paltry commendations, of mankind." Read an excerpt -- Annabel Lee , by Edgar Allan Poe (poem , 1849) Read an excerpt from The Tell-Tale Heart , by Edgar Allan Poe (short story)
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