Edgar Allen Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. His father, David Poe, was from a Baltimore family. He was an actor barely making a living and a heavy drinker. Poe’s mother, Elizabeth Arnold Poe, was also in the acting business. She became a widow at the age of eighteen. Two years after his birth, she died of tuberculosis. When his mother died, Poe was adopted by John Allen. Edgar had gotten his middle name from him. His brother and younger sister were sent off to two different families. In 1815, John Allen moved his family to England. While there, Poe was sent to private schools. After living in England for several years, the Allen’s moved back to Richmond, Virginia.

When Poe reached his teenage years, tensions developed between Mr. Allen and himself. The Allen’s were very wealthy, but Mr. Allen disapproved of Edgar’s actions, so he decided that h

he judges, John P. Kennedy, Poe became employed as an editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, published in Richmond. Under Poe’s editorship, the Messenger’s circulation rose from 500 to 3500. While in Richmond, Poe married his cousin, Virginia, who was not quite fourteen years old. He was eventually fired from the Messenger in January 1837 because of his drinking problem.

After being discharged from the Army, Poe went back to Richmond to visit the Allen’s. After having another dispute with Mr. Allen, he moved to Baltimore to live with his Aunt Maria Clemm and his cousin, Virginia. He was unemployed and trying to find work. In 1831, Poe decided to seek employment and make his living by writing. He published one of his first works, Poems by Edgar Allen Poe. Failing to get attention with is poems, he decided to start writing short stories. Poe competed in a contest by the Phil-Saturday Courier for the best short story in 1831. He did not win the prize. This made Poe very determined to start a new project. He decided to plan a series of tales told by members of a literary group. He found no publisher for his stories, but still entered another contest again in June of 1835. This time, he sent one poem and six stories. His story, “Ms. Found in a Bottle,” won. He received one hundred dollars for it. Through the influence of one of t!

Poe had developed short-fiction as a genre that ended up having a major impact on American Literature and publishing throughout the 19th century (Magill 1810). His stories and criticism have been models and guides for writers in this characteristically American genre up to the present time (Magill 1810). The evidence in this report made me come to the conclusion that Edgar Allen Poe is the father of the short story form.

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The general types of works that Edgar Allen Poe wrote were mainly short stories and some poems. Poe was the firs

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