New York: Harper Collins, 1991. First edition - A major biography of this extraordinary writer - the first in 50 years - by this Pulitzer Prize winning author. "Known primarily as a poet and storyteller, Poe was in fact one of the most prolific literary journalists in American history, one whose extensive body of reviews and criticism has yet to be collected fully. A key strength of Silverman's biography is that it recognizes one of the truly distinctive aspects of Poe's character - that he belonged to the first generation of professional (as opposed to amateur) writers in America - -and examines both his life and his art in this light. . . Silverman is able to highlight how many aspects of Poe's despair were the simple outgrowth of his vocation: the constant uprootings, the grinding poverty, the overexertions and tensions of the literary hack. The exegesis of Poe's writing is intelligent, realistic, and relates in a believable way to the circumstances of the writer's life." (Kirkus Reviews) Extensive notes, appendices. 478 pp.