In response to our class today, as well as some of our readings for next class, I noticed a bit of a trend in Poe's criticisms that I found interesting. I noticed that Poe seems to give bad reviews and critiques to some of the most well known and popular writers of his time (as well as ours). Poe's critiques are often ruthless and "mean" (as Audrey put it today in class :) ). He even goes so far as to accuse Longfellow of plagiarism, including some thefts of Poes own works (NCE, 363)!
I found this intreging... why would Poe hold such disdain for popular authors?
I thought perhaps that this could be accounted for by looking at Poe's economic status and his attitude towards the marketplace. Unlike many of the fellow authors of his time, Poe was not wealthy. This forced him into a position of poverty for the majority of his adulthood. Poe struggled with producing what he considered "high art" and an art that would be excepted enough into popular culture to make a living; his creativity often stifled by lack of money or want of money. I feel that this may bias Poe to those successful/popular writers of his time. Perhaps, because of his struggle for publication and finance, he holds some animosity towards those of a better position than he?
Id like to hear what your positions and thoughts are on Poe's critique of popular authors!
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6 comments:
I think that perhaps there might be a certain bias, but this also gives me a chance to clarify something.
Poe DID write, more or less, what he wanted to. At least that is my opinion. The only problem was that when it went into the public marketplace, it didn't sell because people didn't know what to make of it. So perhaps there is a whole "selling-out" thing which Poe is trying to address.
"his creativity often stifled by lack of money or want of money. I feel that this may bias Poe to those successful/popular writers of his time."
You mean that Poe's lack of wealth isolated him from other writers? And that his lack of wealth also resulted in some sort of hindrance of his creativity?
I think you are right about his demeanor and tone of his critiques. He seems pretty sarcastice as well. He tries to make little snide remarks and follows them with a sarcastic phrase or a "hahaha." I would like to say that he gives such rough critiques because he has animosity towards them because of his status as a writer compared to theirs, however I don't know if that would be the smartest move on his part as a writer trying to make it financially among the same crowd. If he is having a hard time selling his work as it is, then why would anyone read his critiques and care what he has to say if the author is already popular? I would think that it would have to opposite effect on the situation: people would start to read his critiques and be angry with him because they happen to like the author and he doesn't even have anything to show for himself.
I feel that, as we mentioned in class before, that Poe is a bit elitist with literature. If a poet or author is popular then it is because they are too general and aren't "real" artists. It is the same argument I hear for music, especially from my own brother. He has blatantly told me that if his favorite band played on MTV then he wouldn't like them anymore.
There just seems to be an intense hatred of anything financially successful. To get a following you have to appeal to a larger group and by appealing you dumb down your work.
I believe that if Poe was financially successful during his time he would end up "dumbing down" his work as well. When you have people who love you just because they think it makes them look better and you dont need to produce anything of quality to have them buy it then why work so hard? For a lot of people life is just about making a quick buck. I feel Poe is just as guilty with his sensational critiques to try to sell more magazines. What if this was just one tactic to set himself apart and to get noticed?
Patricia
yes. what I meant was that Poe was caught between making what he considered good art and making art that could make him money in the literary market. What I meant about him being different form other authors of his time is that many of our famous authors of the 19th century were independently wealthy and therefor didn't have to produce their art as a commodity. I feel that perhaps this biased Poe to their works...
Patricia
yes. what I meant was that Poe was caught between making what he considered good art and making art that could make him money in the literary market. What I meant about him being different form other authors of his time is that many of our famous authors of the 19th century were independently wealthy and therefor didn't have to produce their art as a commodity. I feel that perhaps this biased Poe to their works...
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