I highly recommend that all of you read the short fiction of Edgar Allan Poe. All of his best stories deal with the destructive effects of alcohol. Poe himself was a chronic binge drinker who eventually died of alcohol poisoning at the age of 40. His life story is a cautionary tale for alcoholics everywhere.
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Never heard of him, but I’ll definitely look it up. Thanks for sharing!
Murders in the Rue Morgue.
Introduced the ‘scientific’ detective story. Before Sherlock Holmes.
Poe is thought by some to have based one of the murder mystery stories he wrote on a real life murder he may have been involved with.
He wrote dark brooding unnerving stories. A man walled up alive. A murderer haunted by the belief that the heart of the man he murdered is still beating. So loudly it will give him away
As was Hemingway (my fave), F Scott Fitzgerald, and Tennessee Williams. How great could they have been had they not had to wrestle those demons?
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I had such a love affair with Poe when I was a kid. The Angel of the Odd is one of his satirical works but the angel itself is made of kegs and wine bottles and basically leads him on a series of near death escapades (sound familiar?)
Berenice is still my favorite work of short horror fiction. Still gives me goosebumps. But it’s very sad to think someone so brilliant had to wallow in the gutters and die a painful alcoholic death. But it does show that addiction doesn’t care how talented you are.
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Speaking of literature, for those familiar with Bukowski’s biography, I must say his approach toward alcohol has a grip on me. Bukowski definitely was an authentic man, like he had found his truth, as messed up as it may look. As he said: " Find what you love and let it kill you".
I’m not letting alcohol kill me by the way.
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I am a huge Hemingway fan as well. “The Killers” is one of the greatest short stories of all time. So is “Soldier’s Home.”
“The Black Cat” is one of the most disturbing portrayals of alcoholism in literature. Poe was one of the first writers to call alcoholism a “disease.”
Thanks for including “Annabel Lee.” Arguably one of the all-time great love poems. Simple and haunting. I still prefer “The Raven” for its pitch-black meanings. Very dark stuff.
Great quote.
“Berenice”–a brilliant early story for Poe. Not his best, but creepy and atmospheric. Ah, those teeth. Many of Poe’s narrators are compulsive and obsessive.
I agree. A drink was even inspired by him–Death in the Afternoon. I think it’s a combination of absinthe and something else.
Brilliant writing. Glad you appreciate Poe.
All hard-core alcoholics. Glad you mentioned Williams. Forgot about him.
Very true about “The Raven.” Slightly beaten to death. If you think about it, the poem is also kind of silly at times. A lonely guy talking to a bird–that’s kind of funny. Includes a great reference to nepenthe (a mythical drug that causes forgetfulness). “The Bells” is another interesting poem.
Last year I had my students read some of “The Raven” in unison. Imagine 30 kids trying to read this poem out loud at the same time–it was cool and funny.
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Wow. Great insights. Over-popularity can suck the life out of a great literary work. It’s like a song being played too many times on the radio. At some point you stop caring about it. Teachers and professors are also notorious for killing the literature they teach.
Lovely. Simple but evocative. Thanks for sharing.
Check out the poem “Funeral Blues” by W.H. Auden. My favorite poet is Sylvia Plath. Some of her poems are among the greatest in the English language. She was a head-case.