The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-07-09
CAREER
OF G. / POE
Brilliant But Unhappy tar.,t
Literary Editor in Richmond
Philadelphia. and New Noth
Hx : f.. tIE<LItS

By ). F. ME<ZIES
In the midsummer III lS3-. I,,
came assistant editor If Til. S.a,F..,
Literary Messenger, published
Richmond, Va. His contributors
this magazine consisted manly m
views and criticisms. Tn. ehf.t 49,
vice that The Messenger did fer
III his development was that ~
work on il he discovered his ,rt..I
capacity. His critical writings ~
tracted wide attention., ana GurIHp -
brief connection with Tn. M.SS.ut.r
he Increased its circulation iron -,
hundred to thirty-tTe hundred. l34e-
ing the little southern monthly ht-
side The knickerbocker and In, NV
Englander as a national macaih. Ia
spite of his popularity, however. Toe
was unable to MAINTAIN his position.
owing to perniciouS habits Of luduI-
gence he had entered into. II. lvst
his position on the paper in J|anuufy.
1897.
various kinds Of literary ha,kuurk
for magazines. In 1889 ne becam, as
sociate editor Of Burton's Ma.azlne.
published in Philadelphia by William
+. Burton. To this magazine ne con
trlbuted The Fall of the House OF
Usher and several minor pr"due-
lions. His tales were regarded ty
$500 - tS WI rs vi uIAltIilt-
ed genius, but lacking in that happy
moral tone which was deemed an 80
sentlal qualification in works If uni
NerSal permanence.
Before the close Of 1910, Poe quar-
relied with his principal, and was dis
6harged. The quarrel seems to have
been a serious one. Poe asserted that
Burton had acted ~dishOnorably In ad-
NertlSlng prices for contributions.
" hlch he never intended to pay. and
he offered his as the ground for his
resignation. Burton, on his S4de. cir
culated ~Scandalous reports about
Poe's habits and actions. and de-
Scrlbed these as the caus. Of ths
trouble
Soon afterwards Poe obtained 4
position on Graham's Magazine. quite
as important and as successful a pc
riodical as BurtOn's. He again lost
his position, owing to some irreg-
ularity, the nature Of which is un-
known. Perhaps his inability to re-
tain business associations was due
not so much to his intem perate habits
as TO his eccentric temperament He
was Irregular, Self-WiIled, and as au-
daciOus in his treatment Of others as
be was sensitive to their treatment of
him.
Poe moved in 1914 to New York,
where he made the acquaintance Of
NS A> lIIcoA tl D
members Of the knickerbocker group,
and obtained a place on Willis pa
per, The Evening Mirror. In this
paper he published his famous poem.
The Raven" perhaps the most vide
~ known of all American poems. II
was imediately copied by almost
every newspaper in the country. In
l lS45, Poe became editor and opri
tor Of The Broadway Journal, bu,
i this enterprise proved a failure, and
Q was left with a considerable.
debt.
! A great part Of Poe's editorial worL
z was criticism. 1t is an evidence 81
ms intellectual versatility that h.
stands as one Of our foremost Amer
: can critics. In his critiques contrib.
! uted to The Messenger, heartIess IN,
severe as they seemed at the time. al
MS adverse decisions, except on.
(that on "SartOr ReSartuS'). hay.
Deer sustained. The whole mass O
this crlticisrn-but a small portion .
which deals with Imaginative work
is particularly characterized by a nan
uteness of treatment which spring
from a keen, artistic sensibilltv an,
by that constant regard TO the oriei
nailty of the writer which is So FIRE
Quently an element in the jealousy .
~ genius.