Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder: Nostalgia and Poe’s American Readership

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One of the curious aspects of Poe’s enduring reputation is the fact that his audience only seemed to grow as the passing of time removed him further and further from his readers. One explanation for this phenomenon is certainly the transformation of his personal reputation as it was slowly, and often to a surprising degree in the public eye, redeemed from the slanders of his literary executor, R. W. Griswold. Another aspect, one that has received far less attention, is that Poe benefited from the wave of nostalgia that rose up during and after the Civil War for the idea of a lost golden era of America, particularly in the South. This myopic and largely imaginary revision of history ignored the more troubled elements of the country’s past, including slavery and the mistreatment of Native Americans, but offered comfort for some during the tumultuous years of Reconstruction and the scandals of the Grant administration. It merged with a sense of patriotism as the nation approached its centennial in 1876, and continued to grow through the Great Depression and two world wars. The same Poe who was criticized by the Transcendentalists of his own era for seeing the dark side of humanity became especially resonant with the deep disillusionment that followed the Vietnam War, when Poe became a darling of anti-establishment culture. Poe’s public image was spread and reinforced by media eager for the attention of a hungry yet fickle audience. In turn, newspapers, magazines, radio, film and television capitalized on an already existing market for Poe’s works, as well as an interest in his personal life. Generation after generation continued to be thrilled by “The Raven,” “Annabel Lee,” “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” The core body of his writings has never been out of print, having been made continually available through sumptuous collector editions and cheap paperbacks (sometimes with rather lurid illustrations or cover art). Many people are initially introduced to Poe in school, where his most vivid works make a lasting impression, further bolstered by the mythological persona of the popular Poe and his seasonal association with Halloween. Consequently, he also becomes a nostalgic part of our own past. Although Poe expressed a personal dislike for literary nationalism, several of his most popular works have ironically become cemented in the American sense of its own history and contributions to the world. While the term nostalgia was not used in its modern meaning during Poe’s lifetime, the paper will also examine elements in his writings that are suggestive of the concept (for example, “Sonnet—To Science”).