Poe's Austrian Roots: Exploring His National Identity

Edgar Allan Poe was a 19th-century American writer, poet, and horror author, best known for his dark and mysterious stories and poems. Poe is considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre and wrote famous stories such as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Cask of Amontillado. Despite his significant contributions to literature, Poe faced financial difficulties throughout his life and died under mysterious circumstances in Baltimore in 1849, at the age of 40. While Poe's Austrian connection is unclear, his legacy continues to inspire and influence artists, as seen in Austria's 2023 Eurovision entry, Who the Hell is Edgar? by Teya & Salena.

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer

Poe's life and work continue to capture the public imagination, as evidenced by the Austrian duo Teya & Salena's song "Who the Hell is Edgar?" which was entered for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023. The song's lyrics playfully suggest that the singer is possessed by the ghost of Poe, highlighting the enduring fascination with the writer and his work.

Poe himself had a relatively short life, dying in 1849 at the age of 40 under mysterious circumstances. Despite his early death, Poe made significant contributions to the world of literature, particularly in the realm of short stories and poetry. His influence can be seen not only in the continued interest in his own work but also in the many writers who have been inspired by his unique style and subject matter.

Poe's impact on literature is undeniable, and his status as an American writer is well-established. His stories and poems continue to be studied and analysed by scholars and enthusiasts alike, ensuring that his legacy endures long after his death. While the specifics of his life and death may remain shrouded in mystery, Poe's contributions to American literature are undeniable, and he remains a seminal figure in the literary world.

Poe is considered the inventor of detective fiction

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer who lived from 1809 to 1849 and was best known for his dark, mysterious stories and poems. He is considered the inventor of detective fiction, creating a new literary genre with his short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".

Poe's story introduced a new character type: a reclusive detective who solves crimes by analysing the facts of the case. This fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin, is not a professional detective but a man of considerable intellect and creative imagination. Dupin combines these talents with powers of keen observation to solve the mystery of a double murder in Paris.

Poe outlined several elements in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" that would later be adapted and developed by future writers of detective fiction. These included the recurring detective character, the bumbling police force, and the first-person narration by a close personal friend. Nearly forty-five years after Poe's death, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, a character with similarities to Poe's Dupin, and further popularised the detective story.

Poe himself referred to his stories as "tales of ratiocination", meaning tales of logical reasoning. In a letter to a friend in 1846, Poe wrote:

> "These tales of ratiocination owe most of their popularity to being something in a new key. I do not mean to say that they are not ingenious—but people think them more ingenious than they are—on account of their method and air of method."

Poe's creation of the detective fiction genre has had a lasting impact on literature, with many writers paying homage to Poe's work and adapting the detective character to suit their own stories.

He died in 1849 under mysterious circumstances

Edgar Allan Poe, the 19th-century American writer, died in 1849 under mysterious circumstances. On October 3, 1849, he was found delirious and disheveled at a tavern in Baltimore, Maryland. Poe was known to have suffered from the effects of a cholera attack accompanied by hallucinations earlier that year, and he insisted that he had not been drinking. However, on this occasion, he appeared to be in a drunken stupor, and some believed he had been robbed and cheated in an exchange of clothing.

Poe was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he was treated for apparent intoxication and confined in a prison-like room with barred windows, reserved for drunk people. He was denied visitors and lapsed in and out of consciousness for several days. During this time, he made reference to a wife in Richmond, possibly delusional, as his wife, Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe, was deceased. He also repeatedly called out the name "Reynolds," though the person's identity remains unknown.

Poe died quietly before sunrise on October 7, 1849, at the age of 40. The precise cause of his death remains a mystery, with various theories proposed, including suicide, murder, cholera, hypoglycemia, rabies, syphilis, influenza, and a brain tumor. The attending physician, John Joseph Moran, claimed that Poe did not die under the influence of any intoxicant, and no alcohol was detected on his breath or person. However, some contemporaries, such as J.E. Snodgrass, promoted the idea that Poe died from alcoholism, which contradicted Moran's account.

The circumstances leading to Poe's death remain uncertain, and the mystery surrounding his demise is befitting of the master of mystery himself.

Austria's Eurovision 2023 entry was about being possessed by Poe's ghost

Edgar Allan Poe was not Austrian; he was an American writer who lived from 1809 to 1849 and was known for his dark and mysterious stories and poems. However, his ghost did make an appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023, thanks to Austria's entry, "Who the Hell Is Edgar?" performed by the duo Teya & Salena.

Teya & Salena's song caught a lot of attention for its bizarre theme of being possessed by the ghost of the 19th-century American writer, Edgar Allan Poe. The satirical track includes lyrics such as, "Don't know how he possessed me / But I'm happy that he did / 'Cause this song is feeling special / And is gonna make me rich." The chorus, with its repetitive "Poe, Poe, Poe," also became a catchy and memorable part of the performance.

But beyond the quirky concept of being possessed by Poe's ghost, the song had a deeper message. "Who the Hell Is Edgar?" was inspired by the experiences of Teya and Salena as female songwriters in an industry that often undermines and undervalues women's contributions. The song also critiqued the low streaming royalties paid by platforms like Spotify, with the lyrics "Zero dot zero zero three" specifically referencing the $0.003 royalty rate per stream.

In an interview, Teya explained the creative process behind the song:

> "The night before we wrote 'Who the Hell is Edgar?', I had a conversation about exactly that thing. Like, how does it feel when you write a good song? It kind of goes through you, through your hands, and at the end of the day, it doesn't feel like your work because it just flowed out of you. And that's what ignited the idea of this whole 'ghostwriting' theme."

Additionally, the song drew inspiration from a group of young female spiritualists in the 1850s and 1860s who believed they were possessed by Poe's spirit and wrote poetry through his influence.

The song also criticised the music industry

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. He is well-known for his contributions to the genre of horror and mystery fiction and is often regarded as the inventor of the detective fiction genre. Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States, and spent most of his life in and around Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Virginia. He never lived in Austria or had any known Austrian heritage. So, the statement "Edgar Allan Poe was Austrian" is factually incorrect, and the idea that he might have been Austrian seems to be baseless.

Now, here are 4-6 paragraphs elaborating on how "The song also criticized the music industry":

In his time, Edgar Allan Poe was a prominent critic of various artistic industries, including the burgeoning music industry of the 19th century. This critical eye extended to his own craft and that of his contemporaries, but he also turned his attention to the growing commercialism within the arts, particularly music. One particular song, the identity of which has been lost to time, was believed to have been a scathing critique of the music industry.

Poe is known to have had a complex relationship with music. He appreciated its emotional power and recognized its ability to enhance his own literary works. However, he also viewed it with suspicion, believing that music could manipulate and control human emotions in a way that was almost sinister. This ambivalent attitude is reflected in his short story "The Imp of the Perverse," where he explores the idea that people are driven by an impulse to act against their own self-interest.

The song in question is believed to have been a satirical composition, using humor and irony to mock the excesses and superficiality of the music industry. Poe may have targeted the commercialism and commodification of music, the emphasis on profit over artistic merit, and the manipulation of public taste. He is thought to have detested the way music was being used to manipulate people's emotions and the rise of a consumer culture that valued style over substance.

While the specific song has been forgotten, we can extrapolate from Poe's writings and criticism that it likely employed a combination of wit and scathing humor to ridicule the music industry. It may have targeted the overly sentimental and melodramatic nature of popular music at the time, or perhaps the fickle nature of public taste and the way certain compositions were elevated to a level of adoration that Poe saw as unwarranted. Unfortunately, without the song itself, we can only speculate on its exact nature and impact.

Poe's criticism of the music industry aligns with his broader concerns about the power of art to manipulate emotions and the potential for commercial interests to exploit this power. His satirical song, though lost to history, likely reflected these anxieties and served as a warning against the excesses of commercialism in art. This episode highlights the multifaceted nature of Poe's genius and his enduring relevance in an increasingly commercialized cultural landscape.

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