Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American author, editor, poet, and critic. Most famous for his stories of mystery and horror, he was one of the first American short story writers, and is widely considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre Contents include: "The Fall of the House of Usher," "Bernice," "The Oval Portrait," "Morella," "Ligeia," "Eleonora," "The Colloquy of Monos and Una," "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion," "The power of Words," "Silence--A Fable," "The asque of the Red Death," "The Assignment," "The Cask of Amontillado," and more. Many antiquarian books such as this are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. We are republishing " Poems and Essays on the Poet Art" now in an affordable, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.