Edgar Allen Poe

Happy Thursday, Everyone! It’s time for another Famously Unknown!

This week’s Epileptic Icon is Edgar Allen Poe; writer, editor, and literary critic. Though he only lived to be 40 years old, Poe is considered one of literature’s central figures.

Read below for an array of interesting facts about the mysterious Mr. Poe!

1. Poe held an athletic record for swimming 6 miles up the tidal James River in Virginia
2. In 1827, Poe enlisted in the United States Army using the false name Edgar A. Perry. He claimed to be 22 years old, even though he was only 18 at the time.
3. In 1841 he wrote “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, which is considered the very first modern detective story. Many heroic characters were modeled after this type of literature, such as the famous Sherlock Holmes
4. “The Raven” eventually became Poe’s most popular poem. He originally sold it to The American Review in 1845 for all of $9.
5. Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe were pen-pals and often exchanged creative literary ideas.
6. He invented the word “tintinnabulation” and first used it in his poem “The Bells”. The word is used to describe the sounds made by the ringing of bells.
7. Poe disputed with both Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow about the plagiarism of his work.
8. By the age of 13, Poe had written enough poetry that he could have published his own book. His very first book was eventually published when he was 18 years old.
9. He is considered America’s first well-known professional writer; that is to say he lived solely off of the income he made from writing, rather than keeping it as a hobby or side job.
10. Poe was the first recorded person to use the term “short story”. In 1840 he coined the term to describe his unique signature writing style.

I hope you enjoyed these fun facts! Is there a famous person with Epilepsy that you’d like to learn more about? Contact me to see your Epileptic Icon featured right here on My Aura Borealis!

Have a wonderful weekend and don’t forget to Seize The Day!