Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic, widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism and Gothic literature in the United States. Born in Boston and orphaned at a young age, Poe endured a life marked by poverty, personal tragedy, and illness—experiences that deeply shaped his dark, melancholic literary vision.
Poe is celebrated as the inventor of detective fiction and a pioneer of the short story form. His works are renowned for their psychological depth, macabre atmosphere, and musical language. His most famous poem, The Raven (1845), remains one of the best-known works in American literature.
Among his major works are the short stories The Fall of the House of Usher, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Masque of the Red Death. His tale The Murders in the Rue Morgue introduced the detective C. Auguste Dupin, laying the foundation for the modern detective genre. Other notable poems include Annabel Lee and The Bells.
Though he died mysteriously in Baltimore at age forty, Poe's profound influence endures, inspiring generations of writers, from Arthur Conan Doyle to modern horror masters.