tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499582243291531753.post6918254574319057691..comments2023-10-12T07:13:01.637-04:00Comments on The American Literary Blog: A great Poe hoaxUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499582243291531753.post-62529565238695268842014-08-02T12:20:13.342-04:002014-08-02T12:20:13.342-04:00Thanks for these additional notes, Christoph! What...Thanks for these additional notes, Christoph! What a fascinating story (and, I have to admit, a very Poe-like poem).Rob V.http://americanliteraryblog.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499582243291531753.post-91624738694732638172014-08-02T11:46:48.125-04:002014-08-02T11:46:48.125-04:00The original correspondence surrounding the hoax a...The original correspondence surrounding the hoax as well as the "autograph" of the poem (written with watered-down ink, to make it look old) are part of the Riley papers at the Lilly Library, a wonderful resource for anyone who wants to know what happened to poetry once it went "regional." The scandal cost Riley his job. Even after Riley had outed himself as the perpetrator, some continued to believe that this was in fact a Poe poem. The most prominent holdout (for decades) was Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer of evolutionary theory. Go figure.Christoph Irmscherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16797112283047965926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7499582243291531753.post-37087447703757786282010-08-03T19:59:21.678-04:002010-08-03T19:59:21.678-04:00Intriguing! Along with Poe "enjoying the ruse...Intriguing! Along with Poe "enjoying the ruse," as you have noted, I'm guessing that EAP the literary critic and poet would have appreciated Riley's calling attention to the disparity between "good poems by unknown poets" and "mediocre poems by well-known writers"--since Poe himself fell into the former group for at least part of his career. And, great poet that Poe was, he also could create a "mediocre poem" or two.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com