270 Edgar Allan Poe - "The Black Cat"

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

History, Books, Arts

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2020

⏱️ 58 minutes

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Summary

In 1843, Edgar Allan Poe, desperate for money and terrified that his wife was about to die, "became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity." Fueled by alcohol and despair, he fell into "fits of absolute unconsciousness"--and yet managed to write some of his greatest masterpieces, including "The Black Cat," which has been shocking readers for more than 150 years. In this first installment of "Edgar Allan Poe Month," Jacke explores Poe's life leading up to "The Black Cat" before reading the hair-raising tale of uncontrollable rage, murder, and haunting remorse. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. (We appreciate it!) Find out more at historyofliterature.com, jackewilson.com, or by following Jacke and Mike on Twitter at @thejackewilson and @literatureSC. Or send an email to [email protected]. New!!! Looking for an easy to way to buy Jacke a coffee? Now you can at paypal.me/jackewilson. Your generosity is much appreciated! The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, launches, and events. For more information on how The Podglomerate treats data, please see our Privacy Policy. Since you're listening to The History of Literature, we'd like to suggest you also try other Podglomerate shows surrounding literature, history, and storytelling like Storybound, Micheaux Mission, and The History of Standup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglamorate Network and LIT Hub Radio.
0:07.0	Hello. In 1842, Virginia Klempo, the 19-year-old cousin and wife of Edgar Allan Poe,
0:17.0	burst a blood vessel in her throat while singing.
0:20.0	Later, Poe was to say of that period, quote,
0:23.0	Her life was despaired of,
0:25.0	I took leave of her forever
0:27.0	and underwent all the agonies of her death.
0:30.0	She recovered partially, and again I hoped, at the end of a year the vessel broke again
0:36.0	then again again again and even once again I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
0:47.4	During these fits of absolute unconsciousness I drank, God only knows how often or how much."
0:56.0	End quote.
0:58.0	During this period of anguish, Poe, desperate for money, kept writing, and turned out some of his greatest
1:04.0	masterpieces including the mystery of Marie Rogier, the pit and the pendulum,
1:09.3	the tell-tale heart, the gold bug and the black cat a hair raising story about a man driven to
1:17.5	extremes and beyond we'll have that shocking story the black, along with some other Povian news today on the history of literature. Okay, here we go. Welcome to the podcast. I'm Jack Wilson, Edgar Allen Paul.
1:48.0	We are turning over our Thursday theme shows to him this month, giving him full rain for the next few weeks.
1:55.0	Now, if Poe only had one card up his sleeve, we might wonder if five Thursdays would be too many, but his mind was so nimble,
2:05.0	his life so mysterious and fascinating, and his output so varied
2:11.0	that I think will be just fine.
2:13.2	Besides, I love October.
2:15.7	October makes me think of Poe and he is just plain fun.
2:20.6	I don't ordinarily like shocking things or scary things. I don't seek out horror movies or haunted houses or graveyards.
	...

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