Edgar Allan Poe St. located on 84th st (between West End Ave. and Broadway) on the Upper West Side  (aka the best side) has Edgar's Cafe. I've been there once probably four years ago now. Will be visiting again to take photo's because the cafe is very Edgar-esque. If you're a fan too you must pay a visit! Apparently Edgar stayed in the same building location as the restaurant when it was a mansion where he penned The Raven.

* Was looking for some photo's/maps of 84th st in the 1800s and instead found this http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5010&page=1    Pretty cool with MANY black and white photo's from all over the city. Treat for the eyes indeed.

      Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston Massachusetts. His father abandoned the family when Poe was still quite young and soon after, Edgar’s mother passed away. Joe and Frances Allan adopted Edgar and lived in Richmond, Virginia. Poe is considered one of the earliest American short story writers and is credited as the first detective-fiction genre writer.

     In 1835 Edgar married Virginia Clemm, also his cousin which of course wasn’t a rarity in the 19th century. Sadly Virginia contracted tuberculosis and passed away in 1842. It was in New York City where she and Edgar stayed until her death at the family’s cottage which is located in the Fordham section of the Bronx. The cottage still stands today and is preserved by the Bronx County Historical Society ( my own trip to the cottage is still pending so these photo’s are from the web!)

     It was in this cottage where Poe wrote Annabel Lee and Ulalume. According to Wikipedia, Poe’s short story Landor’s Cottage was inspired by the small and quaint cottage. The cottage was small but had a charm to it that attracted Poe and wife Virginia and Maria, Virginia’s mother who also took care of her daughter while sick.

Edgar Allan Poe has enticed his readers with his whimsical and haunting stories for centuries.  I first came across Poe's grim tales when I was in middle school. His Pit and the Pendulum and The Black Cat kept my mind buzzing at night not with fear but with wonder. Poe seems to leave a mark on all of his readers whether it be the scene of the black cat clawing its way out of a wall or the swinging pendulum swaying closer and closer with its sharpened doom. This is why I've decided to focus on Edgar Allan Poe for my American Literature Blog. I will primarily be focusing on Poe's life as well as his poems and stories that seem to have stemmed from many of his personal woes.