From the perspective of more than a century and a half, the achievements of Edgar Allan Poe as a man of letters are extraordinary. He may be regarded without too much exaggeration as the single most important influence on the development of an entire poetic tradition in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century: the Symbolist movement. He had a major impact on the writing of fiction in the United States and, indeed, the world. Although his critical reception has been marked by strong disagreement over the intrinsic merit of his writings, his achievement in poetry, criticism, magazine journalism, and fiction is at least historically impressive. As a professional man of letters in a young country, Poe tried in his career to unify the sophisticated and disparate roles of poet, writer of fiction, theoretical critic, practical critic, reviewer, journalist, editor, and philosopher.

Poe's life and career were...