1st 2 paragraphs of 2nd paper on poe

Edgar Allan Poe, the 19th century American writer, literary critic, editor, and poet, is best known as one of the first American practitioners of the short story. In addition to his tales of horror and mystery, Poe is considered the creator of the detective fiction genre and credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.
There is extensive disagreement, however, on the merits of Poe's poetry. According to Enotes.com Ralph Waldo Emerson labeled Poe "the jingle man." Many of Poe's colleagues criticized many of his verses, mainly his later incantatory poems like "The Raven." This view is shared by modern critic Dave Smith who states " " The Raven," although Poe's best known individual poetic work , " may be among our most famous bad poems." (1995)
I personally believe Poe is one of the greatest writers of our time and that his personal trials in life played a major role in his works. Death surrounded him. He lost his mother at a young age, he lost his brother as well as his wife, death and horror was a part of his life and I believe he wrote about what he knew.