Scott Peeples discusses his book about Edgar Allan Poe “The Man of the Crowd” (Princeton University Press, 2020)
Check the book out here https://amzn.to/3qo7cXD
Interview Timeline
Scott Peeples is a professor of literature and has written three books on Edgar Allan Poe and has co-authored a handbook on Poe. We spoke about his latest book on Poe and his experiences in four major cities Poe lived in.
0:34 – Scott talks about why he started studying and writing about Edgar Allan Poe.
2:21 – Scott talks about the cities Poe had lived in and how it impacted his work. We touch on his Baltimore connections.
5:07 – Scott talks about the growth of the cities Poe lived in – Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York.
6:33 – Scott talks about slavery in Richmond and how that may have impacted Poe’s writing.
9:39 – Scott talks about Poe’s exposure to poverty in these cities, especially Baltimore.
11:16 – Scott talks about Poe’s exposure to the rich in these cities.
12:15 – Scott talks about Poe’s ideas about ancient architecture.
14:01 – Scott talks about Poe’s writing on New York City.
16:01 – Scott talks about the city elements that Poe highlighted.
18:16 – Scott talks about the order Poe lived in the various cities and why he moved around.
20:21 – Scott talks about Poe always being on the move.
22:18 – Scott talks about the locations Poe was drawn to.
25:43 – Scott talks about Poe’s difficulties in moving his writing supplies and equipment around.
27:58 – Scott talks about where in Richmond Poe lived.
31:16 – Scott talks about the documents he had available to do this research.
33:39 – Scott talks about business documents related to Poe’s movements.
34:49 – Scott talks about when Poe become famous.
36:11 – Scott talks about the interest in Gothic poetry in Poe’s time.
38:10 – Scott talks about the Poe Society of Baltimore’s archived material.
40:23 – Scott talks about the fights Poe would get into.
42:20 – Scott talks about Poe and regionalism.
44:38 – Scott talks about Poe’s drinking.
46:35 – Scott talks about the bars and hospitals in Poe’s cities.
48:46 – Scott talks about visiting the cities Poe had lived in.
51:21 – Scott talks about Poe’s letter writing.
52:17 – Scott talks about how much writing Poe did.
54:12 – Scott talks about wishing he understood Poe’s work days better.
57:28 – Scott talks about why Poe became a writer.
59:29 – Scott talks about Poe’s rough personality.
1:01:28 – Scott talks about the effect of Poe’s early death on his celebrity.
1:02:23 – Scott talks about Poe’s opium use.
1:03:17 – Scott talks about Poe’s childhood.
1:07:16 – Scott talks about the photographs used in the book.
1:10:54 – Scott can be found @lscottpeeples on twitter and is on academia.edu
Links of interest
https://amzn.to/3qo7cXD
https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691182407/the-man-of-the-crowd
https://cofc.academia.edu/ScottPeeples
https://twitter.com/lscottpeeples
Contact Information
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