Poe: Man, Poet, and Creative Thinker

by Sherwin Cody

As a creative thinker on the subject of literary art, Poe stands head and shoulders above any other American writer, and in a very small class among world men of letter. In analyzing the creative processes he is authoritative, since he himself created a few poems that must rank with the work of Keats and Shelley, and originated the art of constructing the modern short story excelling in the type that is descriptive of a dramatic situation, and also in the story of plot such as the Gold-Bug. He is also enlightening. You will scarcely find a vague or confused line in his writing, provided you sympathetically assume his point of view. This book is offered as a useful textbook on creative literary art, both for those who wish to practice the art, and for those who wish to understand the difference between the good and the bad. Poe knew the difference, since whenever he revised his own poems (which he did many times) be invariably improved them, something that cannot be said of such acknowledged artists as Henry James and George Moore. It is clear that they have not so clearly understood the vital and essential elements of their own methods (which apparently were more or less unconscious, as they usually are with real artists).

485 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1973

About the author

Alpheus Sherwin Cody was an American writer and entrepreneur who developed a long-running home-study course in speaking and writing and a signature series of advertisements asking “Do You Make These Mistakes in English?” A critic of traditional English education, Cody advocated colloquial style and grammar.