This link has been bookmarked by 8 people . It was first bookmarked on 22 Jun 2008, by kasey.
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31 Aug 10
myoung923EDSITEment - Lesson Both Edgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce wrote stories with—as Poe noted in "The Philosophy of Composition"—the "consideration of a novel effect … a vivid effect" on the reader as a central goal. Ironically perhaps, the lives and especially the deaths of Poe and Bierce have also had a vivid effect on readers, spawning a cottage industry of theories and biographies, some of questionable reliability. We are, naturally, curious about the authors and the mysterious demises that seem to some observers "tragically appropriate" to their lives and art; biographical and first-hand accounts of Poe and Bierce are undeniably fascinating. But do they—should they—add in any way to our understanding or appreciation of their work? Can we really know the truth about Poe and Bierce? How can we gain insight into how they created? The stories of Poe and Bierce, far from being autobiographical confessions, are works of art deliberately and carefully crafted to evoke a response in readers. Such conscious crafting must make us wonder about the relevance and significance of details about their lives—whether mundane or intriguing—to our understanding of their work.
Edgar Allan Poe Ambrose Bierce Unreliable Biographers American Literature
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18 Jul 10
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21 Jun 10
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27 Sep 09
Brandy WeemsEdgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce
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10 Jun 09
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23 Aug 07
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11 Oct 99
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