Poe's Quarrel with Boston Writers

Edgar Allan Poe
"Review of Lowell's 'A Fable for Critics,'"
Southern Literary Messenger, March 1849
[Full text]

Written three years after the Lyceum lecture, this review demonstrates Poe's loss of respect for Lowell's judgment and intellect. Conceding that American poetry was "deficient" and in need of correction, Poe argues that Lowell allowed his "malevolence" to cloud his judgment. Beyond this, Poe detects regional bias in "A Fable," its failure to criticize Longfellow, and its pro-Boston bent: "All whom he praises are Bostonians. Other writers are barbarians and satirized accordingly – if mentioned at all."

Boston Public Library, Research Library Collection