Edgar Allan Poe is arguably the most influential USAmerican author. He wrote the first detective story (Murder on the Rue Morgue). His magnum opus, The Raven, was so good you probably studied it in high school. He described the Big Bang before those smarty-pants scientists did (Eureka).

But one of the secret ingredients to his work is Structure. How a story is told, a poem's rhyme scheme, and to use his own words, the "Unity of Effect": the singular point or thrust of an art piece. This focus on the behind-the-scenes action of storytelling elevates a story into an artwork.

Poe was one of the first American authors to try to make a living solely through writing, which meant that his stories were often pulpy and he had to get creative with his gigs. He became a writing critic. He made friends and enemies, and he found a rival in Rufus Griswold. Griswold sort of snubbed him with a book of American poets, so Poe went on a tour denouncing the book. Poe wanted a publishing position, was passed over, and Griswold got the job with even higher pay. And in the end, when Poe died, Griswold bought the rights to Poe's work and wrote Poe's obituary, which starts like this:

EDGAR ALLAN POE is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. This announcement will startle many, but few will be grieved by it.