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A review by mwgerard
The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science by John Tresch
5.0
Please read my full review here: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-reason-for-darkness-of-night/
I found this book fascinating, enlightening, and intriguing, and not only because I am a Poe adherent. Author John Tresch delves into a short moment in the history of American science, one that is often only referenced. By focusing on the two decades around Poe’s most prolific years, readers can really get a sense of the disparate ideas and turbulent scene among scientific thinkers.
The book is primarily a biography, but views its subject through the lens of science and writing efforts. Clear lines are drawn between Poe’s life events, the scientific community’s academic conversation, and Poe’s literary output. When the world was enraptured by Arctic exploration, Poe was inspired to write The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. As scientists worked to collect, categorize, and classify the natural world, Poe was hired to write The Conchologist’s First Book, an illustrated guidebook to oceanic shells. When the theory of phrenology claimed to predict criminal behavior, Poe penned his tales of ratiocination.
As much as I’ve read Poe, read about Poe, and noticed Poe’s interest in the technical, I was unaware of how directly involved he was with the scientific discourse. He gave lectures and presented philosophical treatises on the origins of the Universe. Throughout his public life, he struggled to combine Man’s tendency to imagine and the rigorous discipline of science. From “Sonnet-To Science” to this cosmological treatise Eureka, Poe diligently worked to bring the ethereal nature of poetry and the tangible study of sciences.
I found this book fascinating, enlightening, and intriguing, and not only because I am a Poe adherent. Author John Tresch delves into a short moment in the history of American science, one that is often only referenced. By focusing on the two decades around Poe’s most prolific years, readers can really get a sense of the disparate ideas and turbulent scene among scientific thinkers.
The book is primarily a biography, but views its subject through the lens of science and writing efforts. Clear lines are drawn between Poe’s life events, the scientific community’s academic conversation, and Poe’s literary output. When the world was enraptured by Arctic exploration, Poe was inspired to write The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. As scientists worked to collect, categorize, and classify the natural world, Poe was hired to write The Conchologist’s First Book, an illustrated guidebook to oceanic shells. When the theory of phrenology claimed to predict criminal behavior, Poe penned his tales of ratiocination.
As much as I’ve read Poe, read about Poe, and noticed Poe’s interest in the technical, I was unaware of how directly involved he was with the scientific discourse. He gave lectures and presented philosophical treatises on the origins of the Universe. Throughout his public life, he struggled to combine Man’s tendency to imagine and the rigorous discipline of science. From “Sonnet-To Science” to this cosmological treatise Eureka, Poe diligently worked to bring the ethereal nature of poetry and the tangible study of sciences.