John Tresch

John Tresch explores the intersection between literature and science in 19th century America through the lens of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. The book argues that Poe's interest in science and his works were not just a hobby, but rather an essential part of his literary works and worldview. A very different Poe biography. Yes, it’s the key moments of his life, the impressions he left on the people he crossed, the events that shaped his life, etc. But it’s all framed by his little known interest (within the zeitgeist) in science that culminated in his last major contribution "Eureka." As a work Eureka is completely different from what Poe is famous for his fictional works, being a nonfictional essay/speech on the state of science of the time and what it meant in a larger context. An attempt for Poe to more prominently assert himself as a public thinker.

Fascinating to learn just how hooked into the scientific discourse Poe was while working in Philadelphia. Really, among Poe’s many firsts in written world, he was America’s first Science Journalist reporting on the latest discoveries and inventions. Focusing on an area of Poe’s life that most biographers demise as passing fancies or at best gloss over even though Poe himself returns to time and time again transforms Poe from an almost tragic figure where the outcome is a forgone conclusion to someone with a great deal of thought and interest within the world he occupied. That is not say he wasn’t a man of his time, believing in designer theories and some of uglier blatantly racist science of the 1840s. He wasn’t a progressive thinker in this era but he was a kin learner and enthusiastic adopter. Not sure what is take would have been in just a couple more decades.

With Tresch argues that Poe's unique perspective as a literary figure allowed him to critique and engage with scientific ideas in ways that traditional scientists could not. This framing has totally flipped my understanding of his stories and poetry. Not sure if everything Tresch interprets as being influenced by Poe’s thoughts on science or psychology, but I can definitely see those elements in retrospect.

I might have to restart my ongoing Poe project and begin again with this new paradigm in mind. Really adds a layer to my favorite author that I was unaware of at least in the detail I gleaned before from the more melodramatic biographies.… (mehr)

The author sets the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe within the context of the development of science in the United States. The decades of Poe's life were ones in which science as a hobby of gentlemen was being transformed into a profession, with professional societies, government sponsorship of explorations and institutions and a battle against quackery. Poe, now known most as poet and short story writer was fully engaged in the literary criticism of the time as well as keeping informed on questions of science and theology. His last major but least known work, _Eureka_, is a vision of the universe as a pulsating organism cycling from a singular particle to a cloud of particles, to nebulae and stars and planets to a collapse to singular particle. This process is driven by the paired forces of attraction (gravity) and repulsion (identified with ether, electricity, life, mind and spirit). He sets this theory within an assertion that science cannot proceed solely through analysis and deduction but must include leaps of creative intuition.… (mehr)

The Reason for the Darkness of the Night by John Tresch is one of the best biographies of Poe I have read and could serve as an example for future biographers when writing about someone who has been largely presented from one limited perspective. Tresch doesn't so much refute every mistake or overstatement made about Poe as he simply presents Poe in his entirety, as a complete person, flaws and all. Though he does take the time to show the intentional and planned tainting of Poe's legacy after his death.

It is mistaken to imply that all previous biographies bought wholly into the troubled alcoholic theme, most over the past several decade have been less negative on Poe as a person. Even in the early 90s when I was taking a course with J Gerald Kennedy we learned that Poe was far more nuanced than we had been led to believe. That said, this is one of the, if not the, first biographies to focus on all that Poe accomplished and tried to accomplish and not on his flaws and weaknesses.

While science serves as the opportunity and perspective from which Tresch recovers Poe, it is not simply a book about Poe and science. It is literary criticism as well, showing how scientific thought, as well as the changes within the science community, influenced Poe's fiction as well as his nonfiction. His attempts, many successful to some degree, of organizing and categorizing aspects of writing and reading. His contributions have influenced genre fiction, and fiction as a whole, to this day. From the single effect to ratiocination, Poe is still with us today.

I would highly recommend this to those who like biographies of literary figures as well as anyone who is interested in the history of science, since the period covered was pivotal to how we now perceive science.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mehr)

3.5 This is the first full length biography I have read of Poe and it revealed many, to me at least, surprising insights. Science vs. literary pursuits. There is much I had known of Poe, snippets I read here and there, in other books. I did know he went to West Point, served in the military, married his cousin, etc. What I didn't know was his avid interest in science. An interest that formed in his youth and that was reflected in some of his poems and fiction.

His life was prolific but personally sad. The early death if his wife, his drinking all presented challenges that he never seemed to overcome. His last lectures on science, were ones he hoped would provide redemption and bring him back into the public eye.

The author I think has presented a good portrait of this tortured genius. I enjoyed his insightful outlook and discussions of Poe's many literary pursuits.… (mehr)