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Poet

Edgar Allan Poe

American poet · 1809–1849

Annabel LeeThe RavenA Dream Within a Dream

Edgar Allan Poe invented the detective story, perfected the gothic tale, and wrote some of the most musical poems in English. His verse is built on hypnotic rhythm and repetition — once you've read "Annabel Lee" aloud, it never quite leaves you.

Poe's life was short and difficult: orphaned young, chronically poor, and devastated by the death of his wife Virginia, whose loss haunts nearly all of his later poetry.

He died at 40 under circumstances that remain a genuine mystery, which feels almost too fitting.

44 poems by Edgar Allan Poe

Full text, free to read — all in the public domain.