Essential Tales and Poems (Barnes & Noble Signature Editions)

By Edgar Allan Poe and Jeffrey Goddin

It is hard to think of a more influential American writer than Edgar Allan Poe. He brought to the short story genre a new literary polish, writing scores of tales that came to epitomize the form. H invented detective fiction, and the gothic aspect of his work continues to inspire young writers. Poe also changed the direction of American poetry, insisting that-rather than deliver a message-a poem's first obligation is to create beauty through rhythm, rhyme, and visual imagery.
 Among the twenty-two eloquently eerie stories collected in Essential Tales and Poems are “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Cast of Amontillado,” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and perhaps the most terrifying of all, “The Tell-Tale Heart.” These stories penetrate a reader's subconscious and draw into the light its deepest fears. Poe's sensuous poetry is also on display, inviting readers into a world of grief, delirium, and pulsing rhythms. These qualities reach their peak in Poe's best-known poems, “The Bells,” “The Raven,” “Ulalume,” and “Annabel Lee.”
 The book also includes Poe's only complete d novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, and three of his best short works of nonfiction-most saliently, his groundbreaking essays on aesthetics, “The Philosophy of Compositions.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Nov 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781435141094

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American writer, poet, and critic.  Best known for his macabre prose work, including the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” his writing has influenced literature in the United States and around the world.

Reviews for Essential Tales and Poems (Barnes & Noble Signature Editions)

[stef7sa-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Had he lived longer Poe might have produced a few more masterpieces. Now we are left with two or three good poems, one of which, The Raven, an unforgettable masterpiece and a story ot five that are still worthwhile. A lot of the others are outdated, too obviously written to please the taste of the contemporary gothic-loving readers.