MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR by Rufus Wilmot Griswold

The day Poe was buried, a long obituary appeared in the New York Tribune signed “Ludwig”. It was soon published throughout the country.  “Ludwig” was soon identified as Rufus Wilmot Griswold, an editor, critic and anthologist who had borne a grudge against Poe since 1842. Griswold had somehow became Poe’s literary executor and attempted to destroy his enemy’s reputation after his death.

Griswold wrote this biographical article of Poe called Memoir of the Author, which he included in an 1850 volume of the collected works. Griswold depicted Poe as a depraved, drunk, drug-addled madman and included Poe’s letters as evidence.  Many of his claims were either lies or distorted half-truths. For example, it is now known that Poe was not a drug addict. Griswold’s book was denounced by those who knew Poe well, but it became a popularly accepted one. This occurred in part because it was the only full biography available and was widely reprinted and in part because readers thrilled at the thought of reading works by an “evil” man.

Now, some of the letters that Griswold presented as proof of this depiction of Poe have been exposed as forgeries.  Therefore, this biographical text has only been presented in this edition to interest the reader, and NOT to inform them reliably about the life and character of the great writer Poe.