8th Grade, 5th Place (Tie) Edgar Allan Poe

I love it that an 8th Grader wants to meet Edgar Allan Poe! This is a smartly written, well researched, believable essay. Great job Trystan!

Trystan P
Dixon Middle School
Grade 8.

Who I would meet.

If I could meet anyone in the world, from any country, during any time period, it would be Edgar Allan Poe. I would want to meet this person, because I love horror movies, scary things, anything freaky, and he was the father of scary stories. His poems such as The Raven really got me on the edge of my seat. along with the Pit and the Pendulum. A giant blade plummeting towards you while you are strapped to a slab of concrete? I was freaked. Tell-Tale Heart has such an eerie feeling to it, that you just have to read it and watch the movies they based off of it. Edgar Allan Poe would be the person I would meet because of how strongly he has influenced me.

I would want Mr. Poe to feel comfortable, so I would insist that we meet at the Poe Museum, a whole museum honoring him. I believe it would make Poe very happy to see he is still appreciated, and would make him very happy. I would be happy if I was taken to a museum honoring me and the works of art I created. I would also maybe take him to one of the huge Edgar Allan Poe birthday celebrations they hold ever year. Because Edgar was so unhappy, I'm sure it would delight him to know he is loved, and hasn't been forgotten.

The first question I would ask Edgar Allan Poe would be “What inspired you?”
Why? Because being an artist and some what of a poet myself, I would love to hear what inspired him to write such great works as Annabel Lee, Tell-Tale Heart, and Lenore. I would probably ask him what poet he thought most influenced him. I would be intrigued to know what poet or author that gave Edgar Allan Poe the drive an determination to write what he wrote. So many questions come to mind. What poem or short story he thinks was his best, how he thinks his poem affected people. I know that I want to know how he would answer.

I would like Edgar Allan Poe to know how his poems affected me. I love his poems, and think that people should read them if they already haven't. He has influenced me as an artist and a poet many times in the past, and still continues to influence me as I read his poems and short stories. I would let him know that I don't care what people label me if I read his poems, and that I love his work. I would tell him that many people all over the world read and enjoy his poems all the time, and he has a huge fan base. He has also affected my sister, as an amateur artist, she looks to Edgar Allan Poe to seek literary help. She thinks of him as a great author, and bases some of her works on Edgar's work.

I would also like to tell Edgar Allan Poe how his poems affected history. His works have inspired and influenced people to create a different type of horror and short story. His poem the Raven has gained world wide fame, and almost everyone has read it. He has affected Science Fiction with his stories, and is known as the father of modern Detective stories. He is also known as one of the first literary critics and theoreticians. If I were him, I would be proud of myself of creating such masterpieces to last through the ages.

I would love to meet Edgar Allan Poe, not only because he's affected me greatly, but because of how influential he's been to the rest of the world. I would love to share with him the stories and love notes people have wrote about him, even show him the art people have drawn of the characters he's portrayed in his poems. I'm sure this would delight him a great deal. He has affected me a great deal, artistically, poetically, and in my view on life. I hope you enjoyed my essay.