Complete Tales and Poems, By Edgar Allan Poe

            I’ll state the obvious, people don’t read Poe to be uplifted.  Simply put, Poe’s works are dark and disturbing.  He explores the dark, and troubled side of humanity in his stories and poems.  As I read through the selected short stories, I felt repulsion and I really did not want to continue reading. (I guess you need to be in the “right” mood for Poe, but I am not sure what kind of mood that is!)  In the few selected stories and poems, I was exposed to incest, animal cruelty, murder, and death by being buried alive, YIKES!  You cannot describe Poe’s work as light reading.  At least one of the poems gave me some reprieve!  “An Evening Star” felt a little romantic and whimsical. (One of these things is not like the other!)  This shows that Poe can be versatile.

            So by my introduction, I’m sure you can tell that I am not a big fan and I do not like Poe’s work.  As a future Social Studies teacher, I do not think I would incorporate any of Poe’s work into my curriculum.  However, if I had the opportunity to teach ELA, I would consider using some of Poe’s work, in particular his poetry, because of the feeling and emotions he provokes through his writing. I think poetry must reach a reader by allowing them to comprehend the text through emotion, which is Poe’s strong suit.  If I were to use his short stories, and that’s a BIG IF, I would definitely share his work with older students.  Kids might be intrigued by Poe’s macabre stories, or they might have nightmares! 

   I promise to keep an open-mind as my peers present their mini-lessons on Poe and perhaps they will inspire me to look past all of the gruesome literary details to find its value in a classroom.