Happy Halloween to one and all! Before I post on the author of the 38th best horror short story from 1800-1849, here is an interview I did for "Edgar Allan Poe Annotated and Illustrated Entire Stories and Poems" that I did a while back. Since it is long, I will post half today and half in my next post. For you sneaky people, you can read it in its entirety at AndrewBarger.com.
"Edgar Allan Poe Annotated and Illustrated Entire Stories and Poems"
Interview with Editor Andrew Barger
Q1: Why did you decide to edit a new compilation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories and poems? This is obviously not the first Poe compilation.
A1: There are two main reasons. First, I was sitting on a pile of Poe research from my historical novel about his life called “Coffee with Poe.” Primarily, however, it was out of frustration. All the compilations I came across from Big Publishing simply listed his stories and poems with no background information or explanation. Many of his stories are satires and burlesques of politicians and literary figures of the day, but you don’t have a clue from the books on the market. Poe also wrote most of his poems to various women in his life. That much is obvious. Yet a person reading these bland, cookie-cutter Poe compilations has no idea to whom they refer. Why is it that one hundred and fifty years after “The Purloined Letter” was published, the ending is unintelligible unless one is versed in Latin? Why was I unable to find any compilation that translated this text for the reader in a footnote?
Q2: I feel your frustration.
A2: Don’t get me started. (Laughs)
Q3: What sets this apart from cookie-cutter Poe books?
A3: As you probably guessed, the book contains background information in the form of introductory paragraphs for each of the stories and the poems. They set the stage for what was happening in the world when Poe sat down to write. Also provided as part of the background are pictures of the actual people involved in the story or poem. A few political cartoons are included from which I believe Poe got a few of his ideas. It is also very interesting to see pictures of the many women in Poe’s life to whom he wrote his poems. Poe has at least three fiancées, perhaps as many as five, and was married once. Poems sent to Poe from these women are also included for the first time that I know of in a Poe compilation. It greatly helps in understanding Poe’s relationship with these women and the direction for his own poems. The dates of publication of his poems and stories are critical to understanding their context, so these are also included. Nearly two thousand five hundred footnotes and endnotes are provided throughout. They define everything from people, to foreign words, to antiquated sayings that have fallen out of favor over the past hundred and fifty years.
Q4: It must have taken a while.
A4: Over three years even after I had the research I did on Poe for the “Coffee with Poe” novel. I didn’t have gray hair or children when I started and now I have lots of them . . . gray hairs that is.
Q5: Now for the juicy stuff. What are your top five Poe stories?
A5: This is tough. He wrote across so many genres and created a few while he was at it. My favorite horror story is “The Fall of the House of Usher.” “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” is my favorite murder mystery with “Thou Art the Man” being a close second. “Ligeia” is haunting and Poe called it one of his best. Of his adventure stories, “The Gold-Bug” is fascinating to this day. Of Poe’s satires and burlesques (there are many great ones), I like “King-Pest” and “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.” The later of which I wrote a new interpretation of, and it will be included in my first short story compilation set to publish in 2006.
