As with previous volumes on Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Tempest, this new entry in Gerald Graff and James Phelan's Case Studies in Critical Controversy series is designed for "teaching the conflicts" - in this case, the conflicts surrounding the work of Edgar Allan Poe, one of the most popular yet contested literary figures in all of American literature. Editors Jared Gardner and Elizabeth Hewitt have selected some of Poe's most provocative and discussed poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, along with critical essays representing three major critical and cultural controversies about Poe and his work: The controversy over aesthetics and the literary marketplace; or, Is Poe a literary genius or a pop-cultured hack? The controvery over race; or, what did Poe have to say about African Americans and slavery? The controversy of over gender and sexuality; or, Why is Poe so obsessed with dead women? The literature and critical essays are supported by distinctive editorial matter that introduces students to Poe's life and work, to critical conflict in literary studies, to each critical controversy in the book, and to writing about the controversies. The edition helps students grapple not only with the critical issues involving Poe but also with cultural debates about literature itself. -- from back cover.