Hosts Scott and Jenn, discuss Edgar Allan Poe while visiting Westminster Hall and Burying Ground in Baltimore, covering the mysterious circumstances of his 1849 death after being found delirious in the streets.
They trace Poe’s early life (orphaned, taken in by the Allan family), his Army service and brief West Point stint, and his struggling writing career, including The Raven’s 1845 publication for $9 and the death of his wife/cousin Virginia in 1847.
The episode details rival Rufus Wilmot Griswold’s scathing pseudonymous obituary, his acquisition of Poe’s literary rights from Maria Clemm, and forged portrayals that both damaged and amplified Poe’s fame before later rebuttals discredited Griswold.
