Richard Kopley joins me for an illuminating big picturediscussion of his major critical biography, Edgar Allan Poe: A Life (University of Virginia Press, 2025), a remarkable work of scholarly labor and love. We begin with a broad discussion of Richard’s view of his biography (1:07). We then move on to talk about the concept of genius (2:40), the letters of Flora Lapham Mack (used here for the first time) (6:05), the three major arcs that tie together the book (14:00), Poe’s relationships to alcohol and women (23:45), the role of the biographer (27:13), and some recommendations for teaching (32:08).
