Poor Poe
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History October 7 - 13.
Being on the Substack platform has been great. One of the best things about it is that complete strangers recommend your site to other company strangers.
The first person to be brave enough to recommend Okay History to anyone was Cat Baab-Muguira, a writer I came across when I logged into a Zoom presentation on writing during the pandemic. I bought Cat’s book on how Egdar Allen Poe could save my life, and I’ve written about Poe a few times since.
If you haven’t bought the book or follow Cat, I can’t recommend her enough. Since I’m mentioning Cat and Poe, this can only mean one thing!
This week brings us back to America’s favorite literary emo as we recognize Edgar Allan Poe death on October 7, 1849.
Muguira is the Poe expert, so talk to her if you want to learn something. But for this week, here is a brief, mediocre history lesson of a guy who, hundreds of years later, has quite a huge following.
Poe was born to actors, but his father, David, didn’t like the casting, or he read the script and didn’t like the plot. Whatever his reasons, David skipped town. Poe’s mother, Eliza, died about a year later. Somehow, Poe was given to the Allan family in Richmond, VA, where he would grow up. It sounds like a story Poe would have written himself if he hadn’t lived it.
Poe dropped out of college, enlisted in the United States Army, dropped out of the army, moved to New York, and began writing poems. His writing would allow him to become one of the first well-known writers in American history who made money who made money off writing. Please note that I, too, make money off my writing, and it’s a time to thank all of you who have generously supported my work with your cash.
Anyway, Poe would continue to build his writing and publishing career while at the same time improving his alcoholism. As the years went on, he somehow married his cousin, who was also really young, and eventually, Poe was found unconscious in Baltimore and died at the age of 40.
As I said, follow Cat for more Poe insight. It’s well worth it.
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events celebrate their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here's what I got:
1. Martha Stewart began her prison sentence on October 8, 2004. The retail businesswoman would spend five months in prison for selling stock before it collapsed like a souffle. She got a heads-up from her broker, which is illegal unless you work for Congress. She eventually turned lemons into millions of dollars, and nobody cares that she is a convicted felon.
2. Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Roosevelt on October 11, 1939. World War II was underway, with Germany having invaded Poland a month earlier; the German physicist wrote the American president telling him the Nazis were working on a bomb that could blow up the world, and maybe the US needed to develop one, too, just to be safe.
3. Kathryn Sullivan became the first woman to walk in space on October 11, 1984. Sullivan was an astronaut and Navy officer who was a crew member for three Space Shuttle Challenger missions. She performed an extravehicular activity (EVA), meaning she worked outside the spacecraft. That would totally freak me out. I hate heights.
I watched a lot of sports this weekend, and even though it put me behind a few other things I needed to get done, it felt good just to chill out. I spent time with the cousins who sometimes read this newsletter, so just in case they do read up, Hey guys! I had a fun time!
In related news, I could take two days off this week.
I’ll be back on Friday, but instead of the next presidential election ranking, I will send out another edition of Ask Me Anything.
Have a great week, everyone. Thanks for spending some time reading Okay History.
Okay,
Chris
Poe would not have had to live off his writing if his foster father John Allan hadn't disowned him, but the rift in their relationship couldn't have been avoided.