Editing Edgar Allan Poe (section)

===Philadelphia===
In 1838, Poe relocated to [[Philadelphia]], where he lived at four different residences between 1838 and 1844, [[Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site|one of which at 532 N. 7th Street]] has been preserved as a [[National Historic Landmark]].

That same year, Poe's only novel, ''[[The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket]]'' was published and widely reviewed.{{sfn|Silverman|1991|p=137}} In the summer of 1839, he became assistant editor of ''[[Burton's Gentleman's Magazine]]''. He published numerous articles, stories, and reviews, enhancing the reputation he had established at the ''Messenger'' as one of America's foremost literary critics. Also in 1839, the collection ''[[Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque]]'' was published in two volumes, though Poe received little remuneration from it and the volumes received generally mixed reviews.{{sfn|Meyers|1992|p=113}}

In June 1840, Poe published a [[Prospectus (book)|prospectus]] announcing his intentions to start his own journal called ''[[The Stylus]]'',{{sfn|Meyers|1992|p=119}} although he originally intended to call it ''The Penn'', since it would have been based in Philadelphia. He bought advertising space for the prospectus in the June 6, 1840, issue of Philadelphia's ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]'': ''"Prospectus of the Penn Magazine, a Monthly Literary journal to be edited and published in the city of Philadelphia by Edgar A. Poe."''{{sfn|Silverman|1991|p=159}} However, Poe died before the journal could be produced.

Poe left ''Burton's'' after a year and found a position as writer and co-editor at ''[[Graham's Magazine]]'', which was a successful monthly publication.{{sfn|Sova|2001|pp=39, 99}} In the last number of ''Graham's'' for 1841, Poe was among the co-signatories to an editorial note of celebration concerning the tremendous success the magazine had achieved in the past year: "Perhaps the editors of no magazine, either in America or in Europe, ever sat down, at the close of a year, to contemplate the progress of their work with more satisfaction than we do now. Our success has been unexampled, almost incredible. We may assert without fear of contradiction that no periodical ever witnessed the same increase during so short a period."<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Graham |first1=George |last2=Embury |first2=E. |last3=Peterson |first3=Charles |last4=Stephens |first4=A. |last5=Poe |first5=Edgar |date=December 1841 |title=The Closing Year |url=https://archive.org/details/grahamsmagazine1819grah |magazine=Graham's Magazine |location=Philadelphia, PA |publisher=George R. Graham |access-date=December 2, 2020 |quote=We began the year almost unknown; certainly far behind our contemporaries in numbers; we close it with a list of twenty-five thousand subscribers, and the assurance on every hand that our popularity has as yet seen only its dawning.}} (See page 308 of pdf.)</ref>

Around this time, Poe attempted to secure a position in the [[Presidency of John Tyler|administration]] of [[John Tyler]], claiming that he was a member of the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]].{{sfn|Quinn|1998|pp=321–322}} He hoped to be appointed to the [[United States Custom House (Philadelphia)|United States Custom House]] in [[Philadelphia]] with help from President Tyler's son [[Robert Tyler (Confederate Register of the Treasury)|Robert]],{{sfn|Silverman|1991|p=186}} an acquaintance of Poe's friend Frederick Thomas.{{sfn|Meyers|1992|p=144}} However, Poe failed to appear for a meeting with Thomas to discuss the appointment in mid-September 1842, claiming to have been sick, though Thomas believed that he had been drunk.{{sfn|Silverman|1991|p=187}} Poe was promised an appointment, but all positions were eventually filled by others.{{sfn|Silverman|1991|p=188}}

One evening in January 1842, Virginia showed the first signs of consumption, or [[tuberculosis]], while singing and playing the piano, which Poe described as the breaking of a blood vessel in her throat.{{sfn|Silverman|1991|p=179}} She only partially recovered, and Poe is alleged to have begun to drink heavily due to the stress he suffered as a result of her illness. He then left ''Graham's'' and attempted to find a new position, for a time again angling for a government post. He finally decided to return to New York where he worked briefly at the ''Evening Mirror'' before becoming editor of the ''[[Broadway Journal]]'', and later its owner.<ref name=Sova34>{{harvnb|Sova|2001|p=34}}.</ref> There Poe alienated himself from other writers by, among other things, publicly accusing [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] of [[plagiarism]], though Longfellow never responded.{{sfn|Quinn|1998|p=455}} On January 29, 1845, Poe's poem, "[[The Raven]]", appeared in the ''Evening Mirror'' and quickly became a popular sensation. It made Poe a household name almost instantly,{{sfn|Hoffman|1998|p=80}} though at the time, he was paid only $9 ({{inflation|US|9|1845|fmt=eq}}) for its publication.{{sfn|Ostrom|1987|p=5}} It was concurrently published in ''[[The American Review: A Whig Journal]]'' under the pseudonym "Quarles".{{sfn|Silverman|1991|p=530}}