A Fleeting and Disconsolate Passage

Just who was the haunting and complicated nineteenth-century literary masterEdgar Allan Poe? And how does his work -- some well-known and often read andothers relatively obscure - help his casual and most serious readers to know moreabout the man behind the art?Steve Bannow's uniquely formatted biography of Poe helps his readers to graspthe real-life dynamics that shaped the writer and his craft. This rendering ispresented in a style that views Poe his loves his failures his losses his friends hisenemies his weaknesses his strengths and his prolific contributions to Americanand international literature through an omniscient lens.Relying on the most reliable sources (accounts by close family members andpersonal acquaintances knowledgeable literary observers of the day honoredbiographers trusted historical manuscripts carefully reviewed for accuracy bythe foremost Edgar Allan Poe scholars) Bannow dedicates himself to providinga detailed accurate and factually trustworthy look at one of the most importantwriters and editors in American literary history.A Fleeting and Disconsolate Passage is a form of literary biography that offersits readers the rare combination of generally historical accuracy wrapped in anemotionally charged narrative. Steve Bannow's objective - and wish as someonewho has studied and appreciated the work of EAP for decades -- is that his readerswill gain important insights into the man and his art that will generate a newappreciation for his oeuvre.