What do critics feel is Poe's best contribution to literature?

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

Answers

his best contributions are his detective stories and his short suspense stories such as the fall of the house of usher

-- Anonymous, February 15, 2002

Detective stories were his most original and most imitated contribution. Some of his poems are far more important and his best stories in the Gothic mold are classics. His contribution to criticism(not always honest perhaps)is that of an American pioneer and his advancement of the idea of art for art's sake as a starting point still provokes a great divide among artists. The advancement of an American literature, of science, of the theory of art(short story, short poem) are all important.(www.eapoe.org) Find the critics I suppose, but find a variety of good ones.

-- Anonymous, February 15, 2002

Poe is considered to be the father of the detective story. And in his day he was the greatest literary critic

-- Anonymous, September 20, 2004