Edgar Allan Poe, Quintessential American Writer

Using Poe to indict HN ;-)

"We must not judge of the means," said [ I ], "by this shell of an [Social Network]. The [HN Crowd], so much extolled for acumen, are cunning, but no more. There is no method in their proceedings, beyond the method of the moment. They make a vast parade of measures; but, not unfrequently, these are so ill adapted to the objects proposed, as to put us in mind of Monsieur Jourdain's calling for his robe-de-chambre --pour mieux entendre la musique [trans. Monsieur Jourdain calling for his dressing gown—the better to hear the music]. The results attained by them are not unfrequently surprising, but, for the most part, are brought about by simple diligence and activity. When these qualities are unavailing, their schemes fail. [HN User], for example, was a good guesser, and a persevering man. But, without educated thought, he erred continually by the very intensity of his investigations. He impaired his vision by holding the object too close. He might see, perhaps, one or two points with unusual clearness, but in so doing he, necessarily, lost sight of the matter as a whole. Thus there is such a thing as being too profound. Truth is not always in a well. In fact, as regards the more important knowledge, I do believe that she is invariably superficial. The depth lies in the valleys where we seek her, and not upon the mountain-tops where she is found...By undue profundity we perplex and enfeeble thought;

-- Based on Dupin's indictment of the Parisian Police in "The Murders in the Rue Morgue".

Masque of the red death is very short and worth reading. I often think of the green light in the distance of Gatsby and compare it to that final red room of the masque.

He was a frequent visitor to a bar that is still in business in the city I grew up in. It was said he carved his initials in a table there. Friends and I spent time there looking for these initials but without luck.

But sometime in the early 90s or late 80s, there was a fire that burned most of those old tables in a side room. Rumors spread saying the owner at the time set it on purpose for insurance. It was never proven true.

Poe was the father of the detective story and novel, both.

I know some claim Collins (Wilkie) is, but we're talking about the modern detective genre, not semblances of it.

It’s an unfortunate title given the pedophilia and the headlines of recent years.