Poe's honorary membership

Poe has received various accolades over the years, but most of them have been after his death. Conversely, during their lifetimes, other writers like James Russell Lowell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Washington Irving were getting thrown honorary degrees left and right while they were still living (many from institutions across the pond, like Oxford and Cambridge). Poe was a college drop-out himself so it might not be surprising that he rarely was recognized by many educational institutions during his lifetime.

One major exception might be Jefferson College, named after Thomas Jefferson — the same man who founded the Virginia university which Poe dropped out of. The tiny college in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania (south of Pittsburgh) named its literary society after Benjamin Franklin, who donated the money (in francs) which established the school's first library. The Franklin Literary Society, founded in 1797, extended an honorary membership to Edgar A. Poe on September 9, 1836.* The Franklin Literary Society still exists today, though the institution is now known as Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, PA.

What I find most impressive about this offer is that it was in 1836. Poe had not yet established himself as a major writer of fiction or poetry (his poetry collections did not garner much attention, but some great stories, including "Metzengerstein" and "MS. Found in a Bottle" had already seen print). Instead, the Franklin Literary Society was honoring Poe's contributions to the world of literary criticism, specifically as a staff member at the Southern Literary Messenger.

This might have been controversial. Poe had only recently introduced the world to his new style of literary criticism which was directly opposed to the "puffing" tradition. Instead of unquestioning praise, Poe offered sincere criticism, which often came across as mean-spirited or heavy-handed. Much to other writers' chagrin, Poe also cut his way through bad grammar and poor word choices. He examined sentences like a doctor and diagnosed a number of problems.

I had the good fortune of working at W&J College for a time. I didn't hear about the Poe connection until a few months into my time there. When I learned about it, I couldn't help but get a kick out of it: Poe is everywhere, even in a small town in southwestern Pennsylvania.

*The college maintains the original letter Poe wrote to respectfully accept his honorary membership. Unfortunately, his autograph has been torn off, likely by a collector. Pictured above is the original log cabin which was the first building of Jefferson College; it is still standing.

Poe, puffs, and North Carolina

Poe's first job as a critic was in August 1835 when he was hired by the Southern Literary Messenger. Poe brought to the SLM a new style of criticism which distinctly broke away from the "puffs" that plagued American periodicals. In those days, critics were bribed or paid off to provide positive reviews by publishers or authors — or, in some cases, the system of puffing was so ingrained, no pay-off was needed. Poe, on the other hand, provided sincere reviews, whether laudatory or critical. Although, certainly, there are cases where Poe's personal bias influenced his judgment, he was going against the grain in providing a new type of literary criticism. He was a trailblazer, in some sense, and some have credited him as "the father of modern literary criticism."

Of course, one does not blaze a trail without making a few enemies.

On July 15, 1836 (surprisingly early in Poe's critical career), the Newbern Spectator, a periodical out of New Bern, North Carolina, suggested it was time for Poe to resign. His reviews were too caustic, too critical, too different. As the article said, "We think that Mr. Poe will soon see the necessity of resigning his chair, or of conforming to the rules of modern criticism. The Proprietor should look to this."

The irony here is clear, of course. Consider the climate, the "rules of modern criticism" to which Poe was being asked to conform: critic Rufus Griswold at one point wrote to publisher James T. Fields that he puffs books regardless of quality; he later received direct instructions from a minor publisher named T. B. Peterson for the positive review he expected (along with a request to destroy the letter once read); so many critics are patting authors on the backs that the term "mutual admiration society" is thrown around regularly by people like Margaret Fuller, Edwin Percy Whipple, and Oliver Wendell Holmes (the phrase is so prevalent, in fact, I'm having difficulty determining who said it first).

Poe, however, was not without supporters. Later that same July, the editor of the New York Weekly Magazine would respond positively to the Southern Literary Messenger. Others would continue to back Poe and even emulate his style throughout Poe's lifetime and beyond.

But, back to the Newbern Spectator. Poe acknowledged their comments and the Spectator responded, mentioning "the debt of gratitude which we owe its profound editor... having taken 'notice' of us in a manner so gentlemanlike and dignified, and so creditable to his own temper and erudition." Not to say, however, that they became supporters of Poe. Acknowledging the prevalence of "puffs," they question what Poe is doing. "It cannot permit a single voice to be raised against... errors without descending to scurrility and invective; thus showing conclusively the unfitness of its conductor for the task he has undertaken."

To each their own, I suppose. Personally, I wonder why a North Carolina publication has any interest at all in a Virginia newspaper.

The Unusual Marriage of the Poes

The marriage which joined Edgar A. Poe to his teenage cousin Virginia Clemm was certainly unusual — and it has nothing to do with their blood relations or the bride's age.

There is a signed document (a not-so-good reproduction is pictured at right) dated May 16, 1836 which serves as the couple's official marriage bond. A deputy clerk named Thomas W. Cleland served as witness and testified that Virginia was, in fact, "of the full age of twenty-one years" (she was 13). The ceremony was officiated by a Presbyterian minister and attendees included Virginia's mother Maria Clemm (the younger sister of Poe's father), Poe's on-and-off boss Thomas W. White, and White's daughter Eliza (a young lady with whom Poe may have flirted for a time). The document from the city of Richmond was made under the agreement "that whereas marriage is shortly intended to be had and solemnized between... Edgar A. Poe and Virginia E. Clemm." It was signed 173 years ago today.

The question is: When did they really get married?

Several months earlier, on September 22, 1835, the Clerk of the Baltimore County Court issued a marriage license for Edgar and Virginia. She was 13; he was 27. There is debate if a marriage really took place (Arthur Hobson Quinn believes it impossible, Kenneth Silverman believes it to be likely). It seems, nevertheless, that the majority side with Quinn: Poe did not marry his 13-year old cousin.*

Instead, he married his 13-and-a-half-year old cousin on this date — May 16 — in 1836.

Those that believe the "secret" first marriage to be the "true" one suggested that the second "marriage" in 1836 was more public because, now only a few months shy of age 14, Virginia was of a more socially-acceptable age to marry. It's the difference between being just a month over age 13 or being just three months shy of 14. Reverend Amasa Converse did not seem to have a problem that the young woman was obviously not 21 years old as was claimed (for most of her life, she was described as "childlike" in appearance, even when in her 20s). The happy newlyweds then spent a couple days in Petersburg, Virginia.

I say this nonchalantly to prove a minor point: Virginia's age at marriage wasn't as shocking then as it seems today. Marriage at such a young age does not appear rampant in this period, but it also doesn't seem particularly uncommon. Poe seems to have been somewhat embarrassed, however, and occasionally (as on the wedding certificate) suggested that Virginia was older or that he himself was younger. For those that want to paint Poe as a pedophile, he did not take advantage of her. Unlike some, I will not psychoanalyze his writing (i.e. "Annabel Lee" or "Berenice") for examples that prove Virginia was, well, virginal. Poe's own words are better suited: most believe he was sincere when he said he slept alone and did not "assume the position of husband" for two years at least. Some suggest the couple never consummated their marriage at all.

Within 11 years of their marriage, Virginia would die of tuberculosis at the age of 24 — and, today, 162 years after her death, most still refer to her as Poe's "child bride," forced to never grow up in historical memory.

*As for the blood relationship, this was not entirely unusual either. I may write about this more in-depth in a later entry.

Poe the Critic (cont'd)

In the last post, I presented a little bit about Poe the critic. Regular readers of this blog will likely get a full helping of Poe's reputation as a critic as 2009 progresses. Here's a place to start.

On January 15, 1836, an editor for the Newbern Spectator expressed his disapproval of the criticism being printed in the Southern Literary Messenger in Virginia. The critic was Poe, of course, and the editor referred to Poe's "unnecessary severity". Poe would earn the nickname (and accompanying reputation) as a "Tomahawk" man.

It is really as a critic that Poe first becomes a well-known figure in American letters. He popularized (I won't say "created" because that's tough to prove) a new type of literary review which was (shockingly) based on sincerity on the part of the reviewer. These honest opinions were presented even if they were negative - which likely surprised readers used to the puffery system. This system, which fellow critic Margaret Fuller later referred to as the "mutual admiration society" (specifically in reference to Boston), was always positive. In other words, reviewers only wrote positive reviews.

People like Poe (and Fuller) took issue with this because it did not push for the betterment of American writing and instead allowed poor writing to pass unchallenged. Poe broke those rules because he couldn't stand the false compliments. Reading reviews of the day, as Poe said, would convince you that "all our poets are Miltons." Poe may have been a bit over-the-top in his criticism partly to add balance to the excessive praise.

On a personal note, I will be out of town celebrating Poe's big day (and doing some personal traveling) for the next week or so. If things are quiet on this blog it's because I've become too entranced in real-life Poe to spend time in my digital Poe world. My apologies in advance!