Poe's Austrian Roots: Exploring His Cultural Heritage

Austrian duo Teya and Salena's song Who the Hell is Edgar? is about being possessed by the ghost of 19th-century American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The song, which has gone viral on TikTok, was Austria's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, held in Liverpool. The satirical track is about the experiences of female songwriters in an industry that often fails to recognise their work and expertise.

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1809

Poe's life and work have had a lasting impact on literature and popular culture, as evidenced by his influence on Austria's entry for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. The song, titled "Who the Hell is Edgar?", by the duo Teya & Salena, caught attention for its unusual theme of being possessed by the ghost of the 19th-century American writer.

Poe's name features prominently in the song's chorus, with repetitive mentions of "Poe" and "Edgar Allan Poe". The song's lyrics also allude to his mysterious and supernatural writings, with references to ghosts and possession.

Beyond the catchy and quirky surface, the song carries a deeper message about the experiences of female songwriters in the music industry. It highlights the challenges of receiving credit and recognition in a male-dominated field. The song also critiques the low royalty rates paid to artists by streaming platforms, specifically calling out Spotify's $0.003 royalty rate per stream.

Poe's inclusion in the song is significant, as he was the first American writer to live off his work, despite facing financial difficulties throughout his life. This aspect of his life adds another layer of relevance to the song's message about the struggles faced by artists.

Poe's parents were travelling actors who died before he was three years old

Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809. He was the second child of American actor David Poe Jr. and English-born actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe, who performed under the name Elizabeth Poe. Poe's parents were travelling actors, and they took their young family to Richmond, Virginia, in 1811. Tragically, Poe's father abandoned his family the following year, and his mother died of pulmonary tuberculosis just a few months later. Poe was only two years old when he was orphaned, and he and his siblings were separated.

Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia, who became his foster family. They gave him the name "Edgar Allan Poe", although they never formally adopted him. The Allans had Poe baptised into the Episcopal Church in 1812, and in 1815, the family sailed to the United Kingdom, where Poe attended a grammar school in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland. He later rejoined the family in London and studied at a boarding school in Chelsea until the summer of 1817. Poe then attended the Reverend John Bransby's Manor House School in Stoke Newington until he and the Allans returned to Richmond in 1820.

Poe's early life was marked by instability and tragedy, and he never saw his parents again after they parted ways in 1811. Despite the care provided by the Allans, he had a tumultuous relationship with his foster father, and they frequently quarrelled over money. Poe's experiences of abandonment and loss during his childhood are thought to have influenced his writing, with the "`death of a beautiful woman`" and the "`death of a young mother`" being recurrent themes in his work.

He was raised by a foster family in Richmond, Virginia

Edgar Allan Poe was not Austrian. He was born in Richmond, Virginia, on January 19, 1809, to a pair of popular actors, David and Eliza Poe. When Edgar was a baby, his father abandoned the family, leaving his mother to support three young children. Eliza contracted tuberculosis and spent the last few months of her life in Richmond before dying on December 8, 1811, at the age of 24.

Orphaned at the age of two, Edgar was taken in by John and Frances Allan, a wealthy couple from Richmond. Although Edgar adored Frances, he never got along with John, his foster father. John Allan never officially adopted Edgar, which caused constant tension between them. As a result, Edgar did not take the Allans' last name but instead went by Edgar Allan Poe.

John Allan was born in Dundonald, Ayrshire, Scotland, and emigrated to the United States, settling in Richmond, Virginia, sometime before January 29, 1795. He was a merchant by trade and became a naturalized citizen on June 4, 1804. John married Frances Keeling Valentine on February 5, 1803. Frances was often ill, and the couple had no children of their own. In late December 1812, they took Edgar Poe into their home and became his foster parents.

In 1815, the Allans, including Edgar, travelled to England for business reasons and returned to Richmond in 1820, where they remained for the rest of their lives. Edgar grew up in a wealthy family and had a fairly normal life in Richmond. He was an athlete and a swimmer, and he excelled in his studies. At the age of 17, he became engaged to a local wealthy woman named Elmira Royster and enrolled in the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. However, his relationship with his foster father continued to be strained, and John's reluctance to pay Edgar's expenses led him to take up gambling to raise funds. Unfortunately, Edgar accumulated thousands of dollars in debt and was forced to drop out of school.

Upon returning to Richmond, Edgar discovered that Elmira's father had intercepted their letters, ending their engagement, and that Elmira was now engaged to someone else. Heartbroken, Edgar ran away from home and enlisted in the army under the name of Edgar A. Perry. He later sought a release from service and attempted to reconcile with John Allan, but their relationship remained volatile. Edgar's relationship with Frances improved after she died in 1829, but when he shared his intentions to leave West Point and pursue poetry, John Allan cut off all support.

Despite his troubled relationship with his foster father, Edgar considered himself a Virginian throughout his life. He even returned to Richmond several times in his later years and was the subject of a statue in the city, honouring his contributions to literature.

Poe's literary criticism shaped literary theory

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer who lived from 1809 to 1849. He is known for his dark and mysterious stories and poems, such as "The Black Cat", "The Fall of the House of Usher", and "The Raven". Poe's literary criticism and theory have also had a significant impact on the literary world.

Poe was among the first to propose setting standards by which literary works could be judged and created his own vision of what constituted good literature. He believed that a work should be reviewed for its own worth and that non-literary criteria, such as a writer's background or social status, should be irrelevant. This approach was later adopted by literary critics such as Allen Tate, John Crowe Ransom, and R.P. Blackmur.

Poe's influential theory of ""unity of effect" states that a short story should be constructed to fit one overall purpose or effect. He believed that his role as a critic included exposing poor writing and demanding that American writers meet higher standards. His critical reviews often included a detailed technical examination of the work, ranging from grammatical errors to illogical reasoning. Poe's witty delivery helped increase the circulation of the magazines for which he worked, while his harsher reviews earned him the nickname "the man with the tomahawk".

Poe's literary criticism also included the belief that poetry should be autonomous, freed from moral, educational, or intellectual imperatives. He viewed poetry as a series of effects rather than an object, and his views exhibit a formalist disposition that anticipates some more modern formalistic theories. Poe's concern with technique and construction, as well as his emphasis on beauty rather than morality or truth, exerted a considerable influence on writers such as Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Lacan.

Poe's essays, such as "The Philosophy of Composition", "The Poetic Principle", and "The Rationale of Verse", further elaborate on his literary criticism and theory. In these essays, he urges poets to consider the effect on the reader and to strive for originality and unity of impression. He also argues against the view that poetry should inculcate morals or be realistic, instead advocating for a focus on beauty and the supernal.

In summary, Poe's literary criticism and theory have shaped literary theory by proposing standards for judging literary works, advocating for the autonomy of poetry, and emphasising the importance of technique, construction, and effect. His ideas continue to influence critics and writers even today.

He is considered the father of the detective story

Edgar Allan Poe is widely regarded as the father of the detective story. While mysteries were not a new literary form, Poe's 1841 story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is considered the first modern detective story written in the English language. In it, Poe introduced a character—C. Auguste Dupin—who solves a crime by analysing the facts of the case. This was a novel concept at the time, and Poe's story created a new literary genre.

Poe's fictional detective, Dupin, is a reclusive character with keen powers of observation. He is contacted by the police when they are unable to solve a crime. In "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," Poe outlined elements that would be adapted and further developed by future writers, establishing a formula for the genre that still exists today.

Poe's Dupin stories, which also include "The Purloined Letter" and "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt", feature a recurring detective character, another element that would become a staple of the genre. Nearly forty-five years after Poe's death, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, a character with similarities to Poe's Dupin. Doyle's creation popularised the detective story, and the genre has since spawned numerous subgenres, with detectives in various forms dominating literature and television.

Poe himself described his stories as "tales of ratiocination" (logical reasoning) and attributed their popularity to their "method and air of method." His work in the detective fiction genre, therefore, earned him the title of the father of the detective story.

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