Plagues, Witches, and Wars online course at the University of Virginia
https://www.coursera.org/learn/historical-fiction
The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore web site
https://www.eapoe.org/index.htm
Plagues, Witches, and Wars online course at the University of Virginia
https://www.coursera.org/learn/historical-fiction
The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore web site
https://www.eapoe.org/index.htm
Plagues, Witches, and Wars course at UVA
https://www.coursera.org/learn/historical-fiction
The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore web site
https://www.eapoe.org/index.htm
Eighty Nine - Poe and Research
00:01 Introduction
Welcome to Celebrate Poe. My name is George Bartley, and this is episode Eighty Nine - Researching Poe
00:17 Story about Poe’s name
Let me start with a brief story that really doesn’t have anything to do with the subject for today. Several months ago, I decided to be vaccinated and needed to go to the location where the COVID vaccine was being administered. This was the first time I think I had really been out in months, and it seemed everyone at the medical center was laughing and in a great mood, a real celebration of life. Kinda like a Woodstock without the music.
To get there, I needed to take a Lift - or Uber - don’t remember which it was - and when I got in the car, I starting talking with the driver. It turned out the driver was from France, and was working on her Phd. in literature. I mentioned that I did a podcast about Edgar Allan Poe called Celebrate Poe. It seems that when you do a podcast, you become an endless self-promoter.
She said she had never head of this Edgar Allan Poe - I thought that was strange and said - you know, the American writer who wrote The Raven, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Fall of the House of Usher. And knowing she was from France, I added Edgar Allan Poe greatly influenced Baudelaire. She smiled and started beaming - And then she said - you mean EDGAR POE. Edgar Poe is VERY popular in France - then I remembered that many people from countries outside the United States are REAL hardcore Poe fans, and only call him Edgar Poe - I guess because Edgar Allan Poe seldom used the Allan part of his name after he started writing. So I am going to try and get into the habit in this podcast - especially in the future - of trying more to refer to Edgar Poe - not Edgar Allan Poe. But old habits die hard, and it will probably be at least a few months. By then this podcast will have taken a deep dive into the period of Poe’s life when Mr. Allan began to actively reject Edgar as though the writer was not a part of the Allan family.
MUSICAL TRANSITION
02:55 Introduction to Plagues, Witches, and Wars: The Worlds of Historical Fiction
Now about two years ago, before I started this podcast, I looked for some courses online that might be helpful in learning more about the subject. One of the classes that seemed like it might really be interesting was one called n. The class is offered by the University of Virginia. One reason it looked like it might be really cool was the Edgar Poe is frequently the subject of several books of historical fiction.
Recently I took the course again to see if I looked at any of the information differently, and I saw that my perceptions had somewhat changed - hopefully matured. For this and the next episode, I will look at how some of the information surrounding the course seemed to come alive - especially in connection with the narrative of Edgar Poe and his works.
Like many online courses from colleges and universities, the course is free unless you want credit. Let’s say this course is a 12 week course - you can finish it in less than 12 weeks (which you probably will) at your own rate and at your own schedule. And you will really learn.
For example, it seems you may need to take a test or two at the end of each unit to go to the next one. But there is no reason to stress out - no need to study details or cram like you probably would for a physical class, but with most online courses you take a test and if you miss one or two questions, then you can go back, study the questions you got wrong, and take the test again.
You can sign up to recieve emails from students taking the class from all over the world - introducing themselves and discussing their interest in the class.
I have a link to the class Plagues, Witches, and War: The Worlds of Historical Fiction on my web site. Just go to celebratepoe.buzzsprout.com and click on the podcast episode - Eighty Nine - Poe and Research - then click on the tab show notes or click on the transcript for that episode - the link is in the show notes, as well as the transcript for this episode, and it will take you to the course. Don’t forget - the course is free unless you want a certificate.
5:53 What IS Historical Fiction?
Plagues, Witches, and War: The Worlds of Historical Fiction starts by stating that the simplest way to understand historical fiction is to think of it as a genre where the author creates imaginative narratives set in the past. Of course, many of the characters in historical fiction are made up, but the events are real. The conversations between characters usually have not taken place, but the idea is that the reader must believe that the conversation COULD have taken place.
One of the most essential characteristics of historical fiction is that it be believable - that the story may be made up, but the facts behind the historical events are based on accurate research. And as many of you already know, there are really two main kinds of research - primary research - which is information written by people who were there. And the other form is secondary research - which can certainly be accurate - but is information written by people who were not there.
There are literally hundreds of novels in the historical fiction genre - many of then quite lengthy. So I think it would be more useful to confine a look at historical fiction to a handful of titles - especially some of those titles that deal with Edgar Poe.
07:25 Introduction to The Pale Blue Eye
So let me stop right here for a specific example - Louis (that is spelled LOUIS) Bayard wrote an excellent book of the historical fiction genre called The Pale Blue Eye. The novel takes place at West Point, and the young Edgar Allan Poe is one of the main characters. Of course Edgar Poe was a real person and actually attended West Point in 1830 for seven months. That much is a fact.
But in historical fiction, the author relates imaginary events of which we certainly do not have proof, but COULD have happened. Author Stephen King has described fiction as the truth inside the lie. To follow that logic, the story of The Pale Blue Eye is fiction - a lie. But the author, Louis Bayard, is frequently able to express the truth about a real person through fiction - or things that never happened - but are believable and COULD have happened. For example, at one point in The Pale Blue Eye, the cadet Edgar Poe is talking to a veteran detective about past events. The detective confesses that he used to be obsessed with the theatre, and then goes on to talk about specific actors of the early 1820’s by name - it is obvious that the author has done his homework. He tells Poe that he saw the writer’s mother, Eliza Poe, onstage and describes her in detail. In real life, Poe’s mother was an actress and died when Poe was about three years old. So Poe is obviously greatly affected at the detective’s description of this mother that the writer never really knew. Handled by a masterful writer - and Louis Bayard is an EXCELLENT writer - that brief section expresses basic human emotions - the longing of a child for his or her mother in a way that transcends mere facts. In other words, the facts are accurate and it is believable that such a conversation could have taken place. So instead of just historical facts, you sympathize with this young man who yearns to learn about the mother he never really knew.
In case you are wondering, I am specifically saving The Pale Blue Eye for the next episode because I think it exemplifies the best of historical fiction - and I haven’t finished the book yet. I have found that I will read a section, and go back and read the section again - it is one of the best books I have ever read.
10:43 Some other examples of historical fiction about Poe
I believe, that much of historical fiction, while set in actual circumstances of events that actually took place, depends on circumstances we have questions about. That is why Edgar Poe is the subject of so many historical fiction novels - and this podcast will go into that at more length later - there is a lot to say. You see, the events of Poe’s life are certainly well documented for the most part - especially compared to many great writers - such as William Shakespeare. The sum total of what we ACTUALLY know about Shakespeare’s life would fit on a few pages.
But there are certain gaps in our knowledge of Poe’s life - such as his life at Stoke Newington and his death in Baltimore - so he is a very popular subject for historical fiction - many authors seem to almost feel a need to fill in those gaps with plausible stories about what might have happened.
Unfortunately, much of the historical fiction based on Poe - and there is a lot - is based on claims and counter claims, as well as excellent research.
There are actually sections of Plagues, Witches, and Wars dedicated to dialogues with two of the many writers who have worked in the historical genre area regarding Poe. One of the writers was Andrew Taylor, a British writer who has worked extensively in the historical fiction genre. I did not realize the first time I took that course that Taylor had written a fictional book about Poe at Stoke Newington called An Unpardonable Crime. The title of Taylor’s book about Poe at Stoke Newington - unpardonable crime - is taken from William Wilson - I would not, if I could, here or to-day, embody a record of my later years of unspeakable misery, and unpardonable crime. By the way, in England, the book is known as The American Boy. In my opinion, I think The American Boy is a much better title - for one thing, much of the plot is centered around Poe. The young writer is not a main character in the book, but has more of a supporting role. The book spends a lot of time talking about London society and aristocratic privledge, and goes on and on and on. But some people like that leisurely pace. And the other reason I think The American Boy is a better title for the book is that it is easier to remember than An Unpardonable Crime.
Anyway, this course about historical fiction also has an interesting interview with Matthew Pearl, author of The Poe Shadow. Matthew Pearl’s The Poe Shadow is an excellent book where the author speculates about what may have happened during Poe’s last days. I think The Poe Shadow is a better read.
Both books have their good points, but in my opinion, neither holds a candle to The Pale Blue Eye. So don’t miss the next episode of Celebrate Poe for a more thorough look at The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard - a book I predict you will be hearing a great deal about in the future - especially after Netflix’s version premieres.
You know, in a sense, I look at this podcast as a series of historical fiction accounts that can in so many directions. Obviously the character of Mr. Poe is fictional - I don’t really see and talk to Poe’s ghost - but I do a great deal of research into what Edgar Poe said and wrote, as well as making hopefully an intelligent guess at what he thought. I am currently not satisfied with the sound quality for Mr. Poe, but am looking at some presets and voice processing that would more closely approximate what we think the writer sounded like. So look for that next January - meanwhile listen to the wealth of information in Celebrate Poe planned for the last two weeks of December of this year.
MUSICAL TRANSITION
15:48 Research as a basis for historical fiction
I would like to end this podcast episode by touching on one area that it is basic to any historical fiction attempt - whether it is a lengthy novel such as A Tale of Two Cities, an exciting book with a historical character such as The Pale Blue Eye, or an attempt at a podcast such as (clear throut) Celebrate Poe. And that basic area is research.
As you may know, there are basically two main kinds of research - primary and secondary. Primary sources includes information from people who directly saw or experienced the historical event. Hopefully the primary source is a reliable one - though you can drive yourself crazy if you ignore the simple fact that people can make mistakes. An example of a primary source when researching Poe would be a letter written by the writer himself.
Secondary sources are people who might know about the situation, but their information is of a second-hand nature. A secondary source might even be repeating the stories or accounts from another person who was not reliable in the first place. On the other hand, there are secondary sources regarding Poe that have basically devoted their lives to disseminating infomation that has been researched and is reliable.
17:27 Best Poe resource source on web
As I mentioned in an earlier episode, perhaps the best single research source for information regarding Edgar Allan Poe is eap.org - tho you might have to type www in front of the eap.org There are many excellent research sites dealing with Poe and other writers all over the web, but this site compiled by the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore has to be the gold standard for research sites. The site includes poems, tales, sketches, essays, and literary criticism. And the site has a tremendous collection of letters written to and from Poe - again, excellent primary sources. The site is well-organized, and materials are relatively easy to find on the site (especially considering the incredible amount of information included) Not surprisingly, the site does not include some of the newer research or books written about Poe, but it does include many of the classics in the public domain. For example, it has the full text of Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography - often considered the standard biography of Poe - a book that may be a bit dated, and was written by Arthur Hobson Quinn, a skilled scholar who really knew what he was doing. And the site has also has the complete text of The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Dwight R. Thomas and David K. Jackson — a collection that uses historical documents and statements to portray Poe’s life in a chronological order. And the site goes on and on with all kinds of scholarly articles, areas of Poe’s life, and information about his works and influences. If you’ve listened to Celebrate Poe before, you’ve probably heard me frequently list The Poe Log and Quinn’s biography as sources.
And you can find the full address for this site by clicking on Episode 89 - Poe and Reseach at celebratepoe.buzzsprout.com. The URL for the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore web site the should be at the top of the transcript, as well as the show notes.
20:38 Outro
Congrats for making it this far, as we take a deep dive into the life, works, and influences of America’s Shakespere.
As usual, this podcast began and ends with the melody of Come Rest in This Bosom - said to be Edgar Allan Poe’s favorite song.
21:02 Future episodes for year and recap
You know, now that the weather (at least here in Indianapolis) is a lot colder with bone chilling winds, I have far more time to spend inside, and am working a lot more on Celebrate Poe. Episode 90 is the second part of two podcasts about historical fiction. I will deal more with the awesome The Pale Blue Eye, as well as a historical fiction novel by an English writer who knew Poe and supposedly gave Poe the idea for his most famous work. Then on December 21, 2021 episode 91 of this podcast will deal with one of Poe’s literary competitors, Washington Irving. This episode will have a brief introduction to Washington Irving, his importance, and the first part of his classic work - Old Christmas. Written 30 years before Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol - Irving’s Old Christmas deals with similar subject matter, and is a classic of Christmas literature. The next day Episode 92 will deal with the next part of Old Christmas - The Stage Coach. And on the day of Christmas Eve, the episode will deal with - you guessed it - Christmas Eve. Then Celebrate Poe will release Irving’s Christmas Day ON Christmas Day. And since I like to keep episodes around 35 minutes or less, I will release the final section of Old Christmas - The Christmas Dinner a few minutes later by itself on Christmas Day, Then on the day after Christmas, the podcast episode is The Festival by H.P. Lovecraft. It would hardly be accurate to call The Festival a Christmas story in the traditional sense - it is FAR too dark - but, as you probably know, Lovecraft was greatly influenced by Poe, and The Festival is a really cool story.
And starting on Monday December 27, I am going to begin a 5 part recap series that looks back at the episodes so far.
You see, when I started this podcast, I did a list in chronological order of what to cover in Poe’s life. With the mass of information available about Poe, if you don’t have a written and thought out pIan, then you bascially wander around aimlessly and end up no where.
Just the outline was about 50 pages, and I quickly found that as I did research, I would run into subjects that were interesing that were fascinating and I couldn’t leave out. For example, in one chronological listing, I saw the eruption of Tambora as an event that took place during Poe’s life. Well, I had never heard of Mount Tambora in my life, and was amazed at the massive effect that the eruption had on the world - the explosion took place in Indonesia, and actually affected life in England and Virginia. And you can’t talk about Mount Tambora without talking about how the volcano’s effects led to a competition between a group of Romantic writers. This contest led to Frankenstein and the first modern day vampire story. And that led to the events and dynamics surrounding the series of Frankenstein movies, as well as Dracula.
Meanwhile - to quote the great comedian Stephen Colbert - meanwhile, I will start on Monday December 27 with a 30 minute recap series covering roughly 20 episodes of Celebrate Poe everyday. I will talk about format of this podcast, a bit about its background, some of the elements of Poe’s early life, and the introduction, and why I feel qualified to do this podcast.
There will also be episodes every day during that week after Christmas on Tuesday - Friday - each dealing with roughly 20 podcasts each day. At that rate, it should take 5 episodes in the series until Celebrate Poe reaches 100 episodes - which should happen before the end of 2001. Hope this all becomes a lot clearer as time goes by.
And one last thing - instead of aiming for 12:00 midnight as a release time for episodes, I am releasing the rest of the episodes this month starting at 8:00 am in the morning. Not that I will be up at 8:00 - that’s asking too much - but I am doing all these episodes in advance. Then I can upload a podcast episode and set a time for that episode to be released. For example, the episode on Christmas Eve should be available on the morning of Christmas eve.
27:20 Sources
Sources for this episode include The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard, An Unpardonable Crime by Andrew Taylor, The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl, Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography by Arthur Hobson Quinn, The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Dwight Thomas and David K. Jackson, The Reason for the Darkness of the Night. by John Tresch, Poe and Place by Phillip Edward Phillips, the Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe, edited by Thomas Alive Mabbott, and information from lectures written by Dr. Bruce Holsinger for the online University of Virginia course Plagues, Witches, and Wars.
Thank you for listening to Celebrate Poe.