Famed American author Edgar Allan Poe, who lived from 1809 to 1849, was a poet, literary critic, short story writer and creator of the modern horror tale. He experienced great tragedy in his life and was notorious for his drinking and dark temperament, which frequently got him into trouble. Poe spent time in the Charleston Lowcountry while serving in the U.S. Army (under an assumed name) he at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island from 1827 to 1828.
As Poe’s 214th birthday approaches on Jan 19, 2023, his enduring popularity in American popular culture only continues to grow. Netflix recently released The Pale Blue Eye (the title comes from Poe’s short story The Tell-Tale Heart). The historical thriller, based on a 2006 novel by Louis Bayard, is set at West Point, where Poe was a cadet before he was court-martialed in 1831. In this fictionalized film, Poe is enlisted by a detective (played by Christian Bale) to help solve a series of grisly murders.
In this podcast episode, Scott Peeples, a Poe scholar, English professor and interim chair of the Department of English, takes us on a tour of some of the Lowcountry landmarks associated with Poe.
Featured on this Episode
During his 26 years at the College of Charleston, Scott Peeples, English professor and interim chair of the English Department, has taught a wide array of courses on topics ranging from Gothicism to nineteenth-century American poetry to Bob Dylan. He has published extensively on Edgar Allan Poe and other nineteenth-century writers, most recently as author of The Man of the Crowd: Edgar Allan Poe and the City and as co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Edgar Allan Poe. Peeples served as chair of the English Department from 2012 to 2017 and is a past president of the Poe Studies Association and the Southeastern American Studies Association.
Resources for this Episode
The Man of the Crowd: Edgar Allan Poe and the City by Scott Peeples
The Afterlife of Edgar Allan Poe by Scott Peeples
Edgar Allan Poe Revisited by Scott Peeples
Edgar Allan Poe’s suburban dream essay by Scott Peeples
Why should you read Edgar Allan Poe? TED-Ed video on YouTube with more than 1.7 million views written by Scott Peeples
The Pale Blue Eye (adapted by the director, Scott Cooper, from Louis Bayard’s 2006 novel of the same name)
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe