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  The Essays, Sketches & Lectures of Edgar Allan Poe





Within these selections, all original punctuation, abbreviations and spellings have been retained. Where these spellings differ greatly from modern spellings, the most current form is noted in brackets immediately following the word. A number of obvious variants, such as "colour" for "color," reflect conventions to which we no longer adhere, but which were considered acceptable during Poe's lifetime and are left to stand without additional commentary. For manuscript material, including Poe's own corrections to printed sources, text contained within angle brackets "<...>" shows annotations made by Poe himself for the main text given. Reversed double-angle brackets ">>...<<" show text that Poe has canceled by striking or scratching out. Text contained within square brackets "[...]" is not part of the original. This text is intended as notes or corrections of typographical errors. In the original printings, some text occasionally appears within square brackets "[...]." In such cases, these have been changed to standard parentheses to avoid confusion. (Note: Over time, we will be changing our previously stated policy concerning square brackets to retain Poe's usage and distinguish our own editorial notes by enclosing these in double-square brackets "[[...]]".)

At the end of each selection, beyond the "End of Text" tag, is a code, such as "[S:1]". This code is intended as an internal marker for keeping track of verification of the text.  In general, a value of "[S:0]" or the total absence of the code notes that the text has been entered, but not yet verified. Anyone who has ever tried to proofread a large volume of text will appreciate the inherent difficulties.








The Collections and Books:

Poe published only one of his lectures during his life. This was "The Universe," published as Eureka, the "Prose Poem" by which he hoped most ernestly to be remembered. Other items were first collected in the posthumous collection edited by Rufus Wilmot Griswold, incorporating some additional manuscript changes and other material. These collections are listed chronologically. 







The Essays, Sketches & Lectures:

These items are arranged alphabetically by name. Within each name, entries are listed chronologically. Some of these items were not published under any specific title and most are, therefore, given here under a title deemed appropriately descriptive. The authorship of some items is a topic long researched and debated. Most of the items included here were signed, but for some, the attribution to Poe is necessarily the result of conjecture.
 
Scroll down, or select letter:  A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z





~~ A ~~

  • American Novel-Writing
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:
  • American Poetry
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:
  • American Poetry (a lecture) (Poe seems to have delivered several different versions of this lecture from 1843-1849.)
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:
      • "American Poetry"   (November 1843 — delivered at the William Wirt Literary Institute in Philadelphia on November 21, 1843; at the Temperance Hall for the Franklin Lyceum in Wilmington, Deleware on November 28, 1843; at the Newark Academy in Newark, Deleware on December 23, 1843; repeated in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Museum on January 10, 1843; at the Oddfellow's Hall in Baltimore, Maryland on January 31, 1844; and at Academy Hall for the Mechanics Institute on March 12, 1844. There are general descriptions of the lectures in newspapers of the time, and Poe no doubt reused much of the material in subsequent reviews and his "Marginalia" and "Literati" series, but the actual lecture is now lost. The last version was stolen from Poe's valise in Philadelphia sometime June 30 - July 7, 1849, along with the original manuscript of "The Poetic Principle.")
      • "The Poets and Poetry of America"   (@1845 — "Wrenn" manuscript fragment) (This lecture was delivered by Poe at the Society Library in New York on February 28, 1845) (The manuscript was first mentioned by Killis Campbell in the article "Unique Poe Items," Literary Review of the Evening Post (New York), March 5, 1921, p. 14, and mentioned again by Thomas O. Mabbott in "Notes on Poe,"  Literary Review of the Evening Post (New York), May 27, 1922, p. 694.) (The manuscript fragment is currently at the University of Texas at Austin.)
      • "The Poets and Poetry of America"   (@1848 — "Whitman" manuscript fragment) (This lecture was delivered by Poe in Lowell, on July 10, 1848.) (Poe gave Mrs. Whitman a section from his lecture which complimented her. The current location of the MS is unknown.)
  • Anastatic Printing
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:




~~ B ~~

  • Byron and Miss Chaworth
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:
      • "Byron and Miss Chaworth"   (December 1844, text "A" — Columbian Magazine)
      • (excerpt) Marginalia item CXCI  (1850, text "B" — Works) (In the original this item is misnumbered as CXC.)




~~ C ~~

  • The Capitol at Washington
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:




~~ E ~~

  • Eureka
    • Manuscripts, Authorized or Significant Printings:
      • "The Universe"  (A lecture, written before February 3, 1848, presumably reworked and printed as Eureka)  (Poe first delivered this lecture on February 3, 1848 at the lecture room of the Society Library, at the corner of Broadway and Leonard Streets in New York.)
      • Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848, text "A"  — Eureka)
      • Eureka: A Prose Poem (July 1848, text "B"  — manuscript revisions in Mary Osborn copy of Eureka) (Alderman Library, University of Virginia)
      • Eureka: A Prose Poem (September or October 1848, text "C"  — manuscript revisions in Eureka) (Sarah H. Whitman's copy, now in the Lilly Library, Indiana University)
      • Eureka: A Prose Poem (early 1849, text "D"  — manuscript revisions in Eureka) (The Nelson-Mabbott copy, now in the University of Texas at Austin)
      • Eureka: A Prose Poem (summer 1849, text "E"  — manuscript revisions in Poe's own copy of Eureka) (The Poe-Griswold-Hurst-Wakeman copy, now in a private collection)
      • "Eureka" (1850, text "F" — WORKS) (Griswold reprints text "A")
    • Translations:
      • Eureka — (French translation by Charles Baudelaire)
        • Eureka — 1859 — Revue Internationale (Geneve and Paris)  (only 4 installments, incomplete, ending with p. 173 of the text as printed by Griswold in WORKS.)
          • Eureka — Part I  (October 1859)
          • Eureka — Part II  (November 1859)
          • Eureka — Part III  (December 1859)
          • Eureka — Part IV  (January 1860)
        • Eureka — 1864 — Paris: Michel Lévy frères  (issued about November 25, 1863)
  • Exordium (to Critical Notices)
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:
      • "[Exordium]"   (January 1842, text "A" — Graham's)




~~ F ~~

  • A Few Words on Etiquette




~~ H ~~

  • Harpers Ferry
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:





~~ I ~~

  • Instinct Versus Reason — A Black Cat




~~ L ~~






~~ M ~~

  • Maelzel's Chess-Player
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:
    • Reprints:
      • "The Chess Player"   (@1895 — Log Cabin Series, No. 35, New York: Log Cabin Press)  (soft-bound publication of 199 pages, with a lovely pictorial cover, but with no obvious connection to the contents, and advertisements. Although "The Chess Player" is the featured title, the book also contains ten other works by Poe.)
      • the essay is widely anthologized
    • Translations:
      • “Le joueur d'éches de Maelzel” — July 12 - August 2, 1862 — Le Monde illustré  (French translation by Charles Baudelaire)
        • “Le joueur d'éches de Maelzel” — Part I  (July 12, 1862)
        • “Le joueur d'éches de Maelzel” — Part II  (July 19, 1862)
        • “Le joueur d'éches de Maelzel” — Part III  (July 26, 1862)
        • “Le joueur d'éches de Maelzel” — Part IV  (August 2, 1862)
      • “Le joueur d'éches de Maelzel” — 1865 — Histoires grotesques et sérieuses, Paris: Michel Lévy frères (French translation by Charles Baudelaire)
  • Morning on the Wissahiccon ("The Elk")
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:





~~ N ~~






~~ O ~~

  • An Opinion on Dreams
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:

  • Our Magazine Literature
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:





~~ P ~~

  • The Pay for American Authors
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:
      • Author's Pay in America  (These two articles are actually by N. P. Willis)
        • "Author's Pay in America"  (N. P. Willis) (October 10, 1844, text "A" — Evening Mirror)
        • "Author's Pay in America"  (N. P. Willis) (October 12, 1844, text "B" — Weekly Mirror)
        • "The Pay for Periodical Writing"  (N. P. Willis) (October 12, 1844, text "A" — Evening Mirror)
        • "The Pay for Periodical Writing"  (N. P. Willis) (October 19, 1844, text "B" — Weekly Mirror)
      • Pay of American Authors (These four articles are by Poe)
  • The Philosophy of Composition
    • Authorized and Significant Printings:
    • Reprints:
      • "The Philosophy of Composition"  (September 21, 1850, text "BA" from "B" — The New York Tribune)
      • "[The Philosophy of Composition]" (February 16, 1850 — New England Washingtonian, Boston, MA)  (reprints 6 paragraphs)
    • Translations:
      • “La génèse d'un poème” — (French translation by Charles Baudelaire)
        • “Méthode de composition” — April 20, 1859 — Revue française
        • “La génèse d'un poème” — 1865 — Histoires grotesques et sérieuses, Paris: Michel Lévy frères
      • ["The Philosophy of Composition"]  (1862 — Lieder und Balladenbuch Americanischer und Englischer Dichter, Hamburg) (translation by Adolf Strodtmann, noted by Ingram, The Raven, with Literary and Historical Commentary, London: George Redway, 1885, p. 72.)
  • The Philosophy of Furniture
      • "The Philosophy of Furniture"  (May 16, 1840, text "AA" from "A" — The Spirit of the Times)
      • "House Furniture"  (May 17, 1845, text "BA" acknowledged from "B" — Weekly Mirror (New York))
      • "The Philosophy of Furniture" (1852 — Tales and Sketches: to which is added The Raven: A Poem, London, George Routledge & Co.)
      • "Philosophy of Furniture"  (1866 — The Complete Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe; with a Selection of His Sketches and Reviews, London: Ward, Lock, and Tyler")
    • Translations:
      • “Philosophie de l'Ameublement” — (French translation by Charles Baudelaire)
        • “Philosophie de l'Ameublement” — October 1852 — Le Magazine Des Familles
        • “Philosophie de l'Ameublement” — March 27, 1853 — Le Monde littéraire
        • “Philosophie de l'Ameublement” — September 14, 1854 — Le Pays
        • “Philosophie de l'Ameublement” — 1865 — Histoires grotesques et sérieuses, Paris: Michel Lévy frères
      • “Philosophie de l'Ameublement” — November 11, 1856 — Le Mousquetaire  (French translation by William L. Hughes)
  • The Poetic Principle
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:
      • "The Poetic Principle"  (written before December 20, 1848, text "A" — manuscript, apparently lost) (Poe first delivered the lecture on December 20, 1848 for the Franklin Lyceum at Howard's Hall in Providence, Rhode Island. This version was stolen from Poe's valise in Philadelphia sometime June 30 - July 7, 1849, along with the original manuscript of his lecture on "American Poetry.")
      • "The Poetic Principle" (having lost the original manuscript, Poe rewrote this by August 17, 1849). Poe delivered this version of the lecture in Richmond on August 17, 1849 at the Exchange Concert Rooms in Richmond, Virginia; and September 14, 1849 in Norfolk, Virginia. The manuscript itself appears to have been among the few items found in his trunk after his death. In a letter of July 29, 1850, Bayard Taylor, acting for Griswold, offered to sell the manuscript to George Graham for $50 for the benefit of Mrs. Clemm. Graham apparently declined, and it seems instead to have been purchased for publication by John Sartain.) (Poe apparently refers to writing this lecture in the postscript of his letter of November 26, 1848 to Sarah Helen Whitman.)
      • "The Poetic Principle"   (August 31, 1850, text "B" — Home Journal) (printed from advance sheets of "D")
      • "The Poetic Principle"   (October 1850, text "C" — Sartain's Union Magazine)  (issued about September 16, 1850. The text is noted as "from the unpublished manuscript.")
      • "The Poetic Principle"   (September 1850, text "D" — Works)
    • Reprints:
      • "Lecture on the Poetic Principle by the Late Edgar A. Poe"  (October 8, 1850 — The Semi-Weekly Examiner (Richmond)) (Reprinted from Sartain's Union Magazine. Printed on page 1, beginning in column 6.)
      • "The Poetic Principle"  (April 17, 1881 — The Bloomington Bulletin (Illinois)) (Vol. I, no. 60, the Sunday Edition, quotes Poe's full essay on the full front page, continuing on page three, without any explanation other than "Lecture by Edgar A. Poe." Presumably, the small paper needed a considerable amount of filler and Poe's article served this purpose admirably, while also lending a sense of literary class.)
      • "The Poetic Principle"  (1888 — Library of American Literature, New York: Charles L. Webster & Company)  (reprinted from the 1850 Works)
    • Translations:
      • "Du principe poétique" — 1888 — Edgar Poë: Dernier Contes, Paris: Albert Savine  (French translation by Félix Rabbe)
    • Forgeries:
      • A manuscript fragment listed as a fake by the famous forger Joseph Cosey in American Books Current (1968-1969): "MS forgery of a Poe portion of a lecture, 'Poetic Principle,' dated 9 Dec 1847. 2 pp (joined together), 5 by 14 inches. hn 33 (177) $40" (p. 1421)





~~ R ~~

  • The Rationale of Verse
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:
      • Notes Upon English Verse (1843 - Manuscript Fragments, text "A") (The manuscript was first sold to George R. Graham for $32 for Graham's Magazine, but retrieved by Poe about January of 1843, see Poe's letter to Graham, September-October, 1843.)
        • Notes Upon English Verse   ("Gilman" MS fragment, Johns Hopkins U.)
        • Notes Upon English Verse   ("Holmes" MS fragments, Harvard U.)
      • "Notes Upon English Verse"   (March 1843, text "B" — The Pioneer)
      • The Rationale of Verse (1847 - Manuscript Fragments. As Poe wrote to G. W.Eveleth on January 4, 1848, he first sold the manuscript to George Hooker Colton of the American Review. Colton, however, was apparently not as eager to print the essay as Poe would have liked, and so Poe bought it back by giving him "Ulalume" in exchange. This must have occured in late 1847 as the poem appears in the December 1847 issue of the magazine. Poe then sold the manuscript to Graham's Magazine, telling Eveleth that it "will appear in Graham after all" (Poe to Eveleth, January 11, 1848), but Graham was also apparently reluctant and Poe reclaimed it from him. By 1848, Poe had rekindled his plans to create his own magazine, now called "The Stylus," and may have hoped to use the essay there.)
        • The Rationale of Verse ("Wakeman" MS Fragment)
        • The Rationale of Verse ("Leavitt" MS Fragment, now at the U. of Texas)
        • The Rationale of Verse ("Valentine" MS Fragment at Valentine Museum, Richmond)
        • The Rationale of Verse (MS Fragment, private collection)
        • The Rationale of Verse ("Barrett" MS Fragment)
        • The Rationale of Verse ("Pleadwell" MS Fragment, now at the U. of Texas.)
        • The Rationale of Verse ("Griswold" MS Fragment)
      • "The Rationale of Verse"  (October and November 1848, text "C" — Southern Literary Messenger)
      • "The Rationale of Verse"   (1850, text "D" — Works)




~~ S ~~

  • Secret Writing
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:
    • Reprints:
      • "Cryptography"  (1874-1875 — Works (Ingram))  (This is a reprint of the July 1841 article, collected for the first time.)
    • Translations:
      • "La cryptographie" — 1888 — Edgar Poë: Dernier Contes, Paris: Albert Savine  (French translation by Félix Rabbe)
    • See also "Cryptograms, Puzzles and Conundrums" from Alexander's Weekly Messenger
  • Some Secrets of the Magazine Prison-House
      • "Some Secrets of the Magazine Prison-House"  (1874-1875 — Works (Ingram))
    • Translations:
      • "Quelques secrets de la prison du magazine" — 1888 — Edgar Poë: Dernier Contes, Paris: Albert Savine  (French translation by Félix Rabbe)

  • Street-Paving
    • Authorized or Significant Printings:







Related Items:
  • A chronological index   (in preparation)




Bibliography:
  • Brigham, Clarence S., Edgar Allan Poe's Contributions to Alexander's Weekly Messenger, Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, April 1943. (Also reprinted separately.)
  • Edsall, Thomas, ed., The Poe Catalogue, Baltimore: The 19th Century Shop, 1992. (This catalogue includes a few reprints of material which are not noted elsewhere.)
  • Harrison, James A[lbert]., ed, The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 17 vols, New York: T. Crowell, 1902.
  • Heartman, Charles F. and James R. Canny, A Bilbiography of First Printings of the Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Hattiesburg, MS: The Book Farm, 1943. (The best overall bibliography of Poe, although it does contain errors and is somewhat outdated.)
  • Mabbott, Thomas Ollive, ed., The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe ; (Vols 2-3 Tales and Sketches), Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1978. (Second printing 1979)
  • Pollin, Burton R., ed., The Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe; Vol II - The Brevities (Including "Marginalia," "Pinakidia," "Fifty Suggestions," and "A Chapter of Suggestions," New York: Gordian Press, 1985) and Vols. III and IV - The Broadway Journal: Non-fictional Prose (New York: Gordian Press, 1986).
  • Thompson, G. Richard, ed., Essays and Reviews, New York: The Library of America, 1984. (A good basic collection.)
  • Vines, Lois D., ed., Poe Abroad: Influence, Reputation, Affinities, Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1999. (An extremely useful compendium of articles by various authors, divided by country or region.)
  • Woodberry, George E[dward]. and Stedman, Edmund Clarence, The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, 10 vols, Chicago, 1894-1895. (Reprinted in 1903 and 1914.)


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