Israfel - The Life and Times of Edgar Allan Poe - Vol I
Cód:
491_9781443723305
Israfet- The Life and Times of Edgar Allan Poe By Hervey Allen. In Two Volumes- Volume I. Originally published in 1926. PREFACE IT IS not the intention in this preface to attempt to pre sent, in condensed form, a critical estimate of the great figure whose semblance, at least, walks through the pages of this biography. A long, laborious, and conscientious consideration of the immense amount of material concerning Poe, has convinced the author that any brief, comfortably clever, and convenient presentation of his character, either from a literary, psychological, or romantic standpoint is bound to be misleading. So diverse, so conflicting, and so astoundingly confusing was the life experience of Edgar Allan Poe that, in comparison, the lives of many other men of letters are a simple tale. The method followed here has been to disregard, for the most part, the findings of all other biographers who have worked in the field, and to depend totally upon source mate rial drawn from contemporary documents, letters, and the evidence given by those who saw, talked with, and, to some extent, knew the man. No matter how great the authority, or scholarship of those who lived after Poe died, it is felt that the evidence of those who affirm, I saw him, talked with him, on such and such an occasion he did, or said, or appeared thus and thus is of more value than theories, be they ever so erudite and clever This biography, then, is the story of Edgar Allan Poe, and the strange forgotten America in which he lived, and perished, reconstructed from the direct evidence latent in the docu ments, letters, books, and illustrations of the period from about 1800 to 1850. Neither expense, effort, nor meticulous care have been spared in assembling this data, in which proc ess, the courtesy, advice, and enthusiasm of those who have been drawn upon for aid, or for source material in their right or custody, have been truly encouraging and have, indeed, made this work possible during the past fou
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