First published in The New England Magazine in 1892, “The Yellow Wall-Paper” has been a beloved addition to American literature and important entry in feminist prose. In 1899, Charlotte Perkins Gilman included in her collection titled The Yellow Wall-Paper. I first read the story in the 90s, as a student at Eastern Washington University,...
Though he lived only forty years, Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most prolific writers of his times. The most often reported number of short stories is sixty-nine, the number provided by the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. I haven’t been able to find the number of poems he wrote, but his...
Several times in this survey of Edgar Allan Poe, I alluded to a nonexistent list of my favorite short stories. The list doesn’t exist, because how can it? I’m distrustful of claims of favorites. Such claims seem, at best, fluid, and, at worst, fraudulent. Fraudulent perhaps is too harsh a word, too judgmental. But...
One afternoon in 6th grade, Miss Chapman sat us down and opened a book. From it, she read “The Tell-Tale Heart.” I don’t remember much else from 6th grade; I’m not even sure that Miss Chapman was the teacher’s name. But I remember that afternoon. Without a doubt, it’s my most vivid memory of...
Of all the stories by Edgar Allan Poe that I’ve been reading during these past few weeks, I considered “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” my least favorite. Please do not read too much into that claim. I enjoyed reading it, and I recommend you read it. Even my least favorite story by Poe...
“The Masque of the Red Death” reads like a fable. One could imagine it beginning with the stock line, Once upon a time… It’s loaded with irony, symbolism, and poetic justice; in fact, I think it’s Poe’s most ironic story. It reminds us that, in the end, death comes for us all. As the...
The Spanish Inquisition began in 1478, under the reign of Ferdinand II and Isabella I. It started with the mundane but morally questionable goal of identifying heretics. That was a slippery slope that eventually led to searching for and persecuting all enemies of the church and crown. It became a witch hunt. Its victims...
When literary scholars think of Southern Writers, they tend to first think of William Faulkner. Though Southern Literature had been around since Colonial times, in the post-Civil War era, Faulkner gave it new life and vitality. He opened doors for other Southern Writers, like Katherine Anne Porter, Thomas Wolfe, and Robert Penn Warren. Southern...
Every summer, the Pommeroys vacationed at Laud’s Head, their vacation home on one of the Massachusetts islands, but this year would be more special, because Lawrence, who rarely came to these reunions, was bringing his wife and two kids. The other three siblings–Diana, Chaddy, and the first-person narrator (who’s never named)–looked forward to seeing...
Since visiting Venice as a teenager, I thought of it as the prefect setting for a creepy tale. Walking down narrow allies between tall buldings, especially at night, feels claustrophobic. Knowing that if threatened, fleeing towards the right canal, towards the right bridge, was essential for safety. And then there’s the eerie quiet of...
