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'''Tamerlane and Other Poems''' was the first published collection of poems by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1827. Today, it is believed only 12 copies of the 40-page collection exist.

Contents

Overview

Endnotes

Poems included

External link

References

Overview

Only 50 copies were released in July 1827 when Poe was only 19 years old. It was published anonymously with the tagline "By a Bostonian"^[1] (though Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, he spent most of his life up to this point in Richmond, Virginia). Boston was, at the time, a center for publishing and the literary world.
Poe paid for the publication with his own money. Published by an 18-year old printer named Calvin F. S. Thomas, the collection was 40 pages long. Few copies were sold and the collection received no critical attention.^[2]
Poe introduced the collection with an apologetic notice admitting the low quality of his work. He claimed, however, that the majority of the poems were written between 1820 and 1821, "when the author had not completed his fourteenth year"^[3] - assumed to be an exaggeration. The poems, many of which had a theme of youth, were largely inspired by the work of Lord Byron - in fact, the character of the title poem "Tamerlane" has a daughter named "Ada," perhaps named after Byron's own daughter. The poems also have elements inspired by William Butler Yeats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.^[4]
It is believed only a dozen copies of this original printing remain, making it one of the rarest of first editions in American literature. One copy is part of the collection at the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia.^[5]

Endnotes

In this collection, Poe including endnotes explaining some of his allusions from the title poem. He also confesses early on that he knows little about the historical Tamerlane, "and with that little, I have taken the full liberty of a poet." These endnotes do not appear in any other collection that includes "Tamerlane."

Poems included

★ "To — — " (now known as "Song")

★ "Tamerlane"

★ "Visits of the Dead" (now known as "Spirits of the Dead")

★ "Evening Star"

★ "Imitation"

★ Untitled poem (now known as "Stanzas")

★ Untitled poem (now known as "A Dream")

★ Untitled poem (now known as "The Happiest Day")

★ "The Lake"^[6]

External link

★ List of known extant copies of ''Tamarlane and Other Poems'', Edgar Allan Poe Society online

References

1. Silverman, Kenneth. ''Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance''. Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 38. ISBN 0815410387
2. Meyers, Jeffrey. ''Edgar Allan Poe: His Life and Legacy''. Cooper Square Press, 1992. pp. 33-4. ISBN 0815410387
3. Silverman, Kenneth. ''Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance''. Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 39. ISBN 0060923318
4. Krutch, Joseph Wood. ''Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926.
5. Rose, Lloyd. ''Washington Post'' article. May 10, 1998
6. Tamarlane and Other Poems at the Edgar Allan Poe Society online