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| Author: Richard Horne | Editor: Andrew Barger |
| Format: | Paperback |
Product Summary
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Bottletree Books
ISBN-10: 1933747110
ISBN-13: 9781933747118
Buy.com Sku: 208188521
Publish Date: 6/9/2008
Pages:
144
Age Range:
NA
See more in English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
| "Orion" is an epic English poem of love and war. It deserves its place next to "Beowulf" in English literature. Its overtones consist of aesthetically pleasing writing with a Shakespearian tinge, all wrapped in classical Greek mythology. It contains a fine introduction by Andrew Barger, a foreword by the author, Richard Horne, and a fantastic review by Edgar Allan Poe. This is all combined with illustrations and annotations for the first time. As Poe stated, "It is our deliberate opinion that, in all that regards the loftiest and holiest attributes of the true Poetry, ''Orion'' has never been excelled. Indeed we feel strongly inclined to say that it has never been equaled." While Charlotte Bronte said, "there are passages I shall recur to again and yet again - passages instinct both with power and beauty." Written in 1843, "Orion" is the greatest epic poem you have never read. |
Author Bio
Edgar Allan Poe
Poe's parents were traveling actors who died when he was a small child, leaving three children: one died, one eventually became insane, and the other grew up to be Edgar Allan Poe, one of America's great writers and the father of the modern detective story. He was raised (though never legally adopted) by a merchant named John Allan and spent part of his growing-up years in England. He attended the University of Virginia, but was expelled for not paying his gambling debts, as a result of which Allan disowned him. Poe joined the Army in 1927 and then spent a year at West Point, from which he was dismissed in 1831. He lived for a while with his aunt in Baltimore, during which time he won a $50 short-story prize and began working on the staffs of various literary magazines. He also began writing stories on a regular basis. In 1836, Poe married his 13-year-old cousin, but she became ill six years later and remained an invalid until she died of tuberculosis in 1847. After her death, Poe began to drink and take drugs, and his fiction and poetry became morbid and dark; it also brought him money and fame. Often depressed and on the verge of madness, Poe attempted suicide in 1848. The next year, he went on a three-day binge, and was found delirious in a Baltimore gutter. He died a few days later. His last words were, "Lord, help my poor soul."
