“Be bold—read much—write
much—publish little—keep aloof from the little wits—and fear nothing.”(Edgar
Allan Poe, 1843). AND… FEAR… NOTHING! These were the words I came away with
when I spent the day with poet and published writer, Edgar Allan Poe. Just the
sound of his name stirs dark, soulful metaphors like the doomed, fringe
caucuses idolizing tormented surrealism. To say I was very much addicted to this
reality is by its very definition an understatement!
During my time with Mr. Poe, he proposed
to me the intimate nature of writing and that there is actually a “philosophy
of composition”. The well-crafted lyrics, similes, alliterations, and allusions
known mechanically by educators are just the tip of the proverbial ice-berg
because it is how these “words” and ideas are artfully constructed and shared
with the reader to create the reality that writers wish to conveye. Mr. Poe is,
by all means, the master lyricist and master story teller. When he narrates, I
believe, we all share his vision. “How it hangs upon the trees. A mystery of
mysteries. Be silent in that solitude, Which is not loneliness- for then the
spirits of the dead, who stood In life before thee, are again in death around
thee”(Poe, 1809).
In summary, Mr. Edgar Allan Poe
has shared his vision of writing and the grasp of emotional realism with his
trainee. Through artful manipulation of words and ideas, the writer (or story
teller) can impart a type of catharsis and identification with the players in
the tragedy, thereby sharing their story (and emotions) with the
reader/listener. The “philosophy of composition” garners favor of the
participants as they relate to the plight of the under-appreciated, persecuted,
downtrodden, etc…. Mr. Poe would describe it as such, “Be silent in that
solitude, Which is not loneliness- for then the spirits of the dead, who stood
In life before thee, are again in death around thee”(Poe, 1809)
