Edgar Allan Poe

It's Poe's birthday. He was born on this day in Boston in 1809. In his honor, I'll be sipping a nice glass of Amontillado tonight. Or, if we happen to be fresh out of Amontillado, I'll just settle for a bottle of Bell's Expedition Stout. Though I doubt I could ever get sufficiently drunk to truly do justice to Poe, I'll still make a small gesture none the less.

From Minnesota Public Radio:

He first made his name writing some of the most brutal book reviews ever published at the time. He was called the "tomahawk man from the South." He described one poem as "an illimitable gilded swill trough," and he said, "[Most] of those who hold high places in our poetical literature are absolute nincompoops."

Outstanding. (And to think that Dale Peck is considered a harsh critic today!) I think I'll name my first story collection An Illimitable Gilded Swill Trough, if and when that blessed event ever occurs.