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-- Anonymous, April 22, 2004

Answers

he tried one novel. The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym, mainly because that was(and is) the main way to score big. Howverer he did not favor the long medium and the project was long and resource consuming. Then it failed(despite success as a faux non-fiction tale in Britain to bring in money). That departure from steady magazine work cost him dearly and on top of that, timing its content to coincide with the ruinous Wilkes South Seas Expedition fell flat as well. The story it was based on(Jeremiah Reynolds South Sea explaorations for the Polar Hole) was short circuited when reynolds (the inspiration of the expedition) was left behind.

Poe never attempted antoher novel although a serialization Junius Rodman(based on western explorers)was attempted(which also fell a bit flat). So the master of the short form needed little more incentive to give up the long blockbuster tale.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2004

In plainative terms, Poe used novel writing as an escape from poverty. Although indeed Poe was a literary genius, short stories and tales were simply a much more welcoming alternative to novels. Poe was not one to spend numerous hours upon one peice of paper, writing many words just for the overall enjoyment of the readers- money was more important. Furthermore, Poe seemed to have trouble in writing something so organized (I am opinionating this), as his mind was not subtle to change, but rather wandering and easily altered based on life experiences or tradegy. Thus, writing a novel becomes difficult, as I myself have found while writing. Poe wrote the novels that he wrote for no other reason than to survive, such as all of humanity. Poe was a free-thinking, depressed, literary genius who's heart laid within the melody of poetry and the fast pace of tale's structure.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2004

Since I have made no money to speak of writing either from I strangely find the novel easier to produce something worthwhile. Baudelaire really exemplifies best what Poe in essence was. A poet first and last for whom the chosen forms had to conform to the communication of the Muse. Though many of his poems were also "tales" he had no patience with character and plot as such but for the emotional expression almost beyond ordinary human experience which a novel cannot sustain or long focus upon.

Had Poe even been less pressured I doubt he would have put much inot novel writing- most especially long novels though he could produce long works with sustained enthusiasm("Eureka") if they combined passionate elements of both rationality and poetry.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2004

I compliantly agree with the above stated. Poe was a man of diversity (please, no association with race, gender, or culture), emotional diversity. He seemed to appreciate and enjoy a variance of approaches to literature, but yet, his rapid-fire mind seemed more influenced by easy-flowing poetry, and the quick-catalyst (to a reader's reaction) tale. I personally believe that novel writing is overly difficult to accomplish if you behold a mind influenced easily by outer-happenings or the "extraordinary". Although many would say that the contrary proves true, that you need an extraordinary mind to write the novel, I feel obligated to guard my opinion fully. I feel this obligation, as I believe that one's mind is not extraordinary till' he can realize that time is short and that life is also. Thus, he may write quicker and speedier, rather than spend an exceptionally long time on one work. I feel strongly in my ideology that one's long novel is only appreciated for its affect on the reader, rather than the genius-mind of its author.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2004