In Poe's Wake - by Jonathan Elmer (Paperback)

About the Book

"Edgar Allan Poe is one of American culture's most iconic figures, inspiring countless derivations beyond the literary realm, from commercial illustration and kitch to art installations and video games. Why has Poe been so hugely influential in media other than his own? What do filmmakers, composers, and other artists find in Poe that suits their purposes so often and so variously? Poe's works are violent and brooding, memorable both for certain grisly images and for certain prevailing moods-dread, creepiness, mournfulness. They are, in other words, distinctly graphic and richly atmospheric. Jonathan Elmer locates the source of Poe's fascination for artists in these two vernacular aesthetic categories-the graphic and the atmospheric-and how well they describe our experience of the multi-media world. Elmer uses Poe to explore these two terms and track some deep patterns in their use, not through theoretical labor but through close encounters with a wide sampling of aesthetic objects that avail themselves of Poe's work. Poe, we learn, has come to exemplify a modern method of aesthetic production. It is as if he left his box of tools lying around for others to pick up and play with. The bundle of Poe traits-his thematic emphasis on extreme sensation, his flexible sense of form, his experimental and modular method, his iconic personal profile-amount to what could be called a Poe "brand," one as likely to be found in music videos or comics as in novels and stories. Ranging from Renâe Magritte and Claude Debussy to Lou Reed, Roger Corman, and Spongebob Squarepants, Elmer shows how the Poe brand opens trunk lines to aesthetic experiences fundamental to a multi-media world"--

Book Synopsis

Explores how Edgar Allan Poe has become a household name, as much a brand as an author.

You'll find his face everywhere, from coffee mugs, bobbleheads, and T-shirts to the cover of the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Edgar Allan Poe is one of American culture's most recognizable literary figures, his life and works inspiring countless derivations beyond the literary realm. Poe's likeness and influence have been found in commercial illustration and kitsch, art installations, films, radio plays, children's cartoons, and video games. What makes Poe so hugely influential in media other than his own? What do filmmakers, composers, and other artists find in Poe that suits their purposes so often and so variously?

In Poe's Wake locates the source of the writer's enduring legacy in two vernacular aesthetic categories: the graphic and the atmospheric. Jonathan Elmer uses Poe to explore these two terms and track some deep patterns in their use, not through theoretical labor but through close encounters with a wide sampling of aesthetic objects that avail themselves of Poe's work. Poe's writings are violent and macabre, memorable both for certain grisly images and for certain prevailing moods or atmospheres--dread, creepiness, and mournfulness. Furthermore, a bundle of Poe traits--his thematic emphasis on extreme sensation, his flexible sense of form, his experimental and modular method, and his iconic visage--amount to what could be called a Poe "brand," one as likely to be found in music videos or comics as in novels and stories. Encompassing René Magritte, Claude Debussy, Lou Reed, Roger Corman, Spongebob Squarepants, and many others, Elmer's book shows how the Poe brand opens trunk lines to aesthetic experiences fundamental to a multi-media world.

Review Quotes

"With In Poe's Wake, Elmer takes an innovative and sensory approach to exploring Poe's work and its many adaptations. By foregrounding the visual and auditory impact of Poe's writing and its afterlives, Elmer invites readers to move beyond the text to engage with the sensory experience of these echoes and adaptations. Elmer's analysis is grounded in a wide range of specific examples, what he refers to in his afterword as 'an island-hopping itinerary of interest and variety' [159]. Elmer has chosen an array of diverse adaptations, from film, art, and classical music to comics, cartoons, and video games, a combination which highlights the pervasive nature of Poe and his legacy in contemporary culture. This approach provides readers with several excellent and detailed close readings that demonstrate Elmer's thesis, while also opening up possibilities for exploration and further discussion."
-- "Poe Studies: History, Theory, Interpretation"

"In Poe's Wake is a must-read for Poe scholars, cultural critics, or anyone interested in Poe. . . . Highly recommended."

-- "Choice"

"In Poe's Wake is a deft, surprising, fun, and insightful dash through the arsenal of special effects created by Poe and elaborated by his avatars. Elmer's brief yet potent book pinpoints those aspects of his poems, tales, and critical theory which form a compact and flexible toolbox for modern aesthetic invention. This lively, humorous (and sometimes lurid) cross-disciplinary romp reveals how Poe has been taken up and reconfigured by a veritable who's who of literature, music, cinema, and visual art."-- "John Tresch, author of "The Reason for the Darkness of the Night""

"In Poe's wake, Elmer shows, are to be found some of the most haunting and exhilarating formal experiments of the last two centuries, from symbolist poetry to graphic art. Elmer's engrossing study affirms Poe's place as a key aesthetic resource for the present."-- "Emily Ogden, author of "On Not Knowing""

"My advice to the reader of this wonderful book? Read chapter 2 before everything else. That's where Elmer shows, in salient graphic terms, how Poe's dark and hilarious world opened (and still opens) doors to visions of the kingdoms of heaven and hell. Then you'll be set to read everything else here in the same spirit that the author has writ."-- "Jerome McGann, author of "The Poet Edgar Allan Poe""

About the Author

Jonathan Elmer is professor of English at Indiana University. He is author of Reading at the Social Limit: Affect, Mass Culture, and Edgar Allan Poe and On Lingering and Being Last: Race and Sovereignty in the New World.