About POEcast: The Poe Studies Association Podcast
In POEcast: The Poe Studies Association Podcast, Dr. Caleb Doan interviews scholars about Edgar Allan Poe and recent trends in Poe studies. While focused on Poe’s life, times, works, and influence, the discussions also will appeal to listeners interested in US and world literature, history, and culture; author studies; scholarly and creative writing; teaching; and more. This podcast aims, like Poe, to “suit at once the popular and the critical taste.”
Est. in 1972, the PSA supports the scholarly and informal exchange of information about Poe.
Publisher
Poe Studies Association (with host and producer Caleb Doan)
Richard Kopley discusses his biography, Edgar Allan Poe: A Life, exploring Poe's genius, relationships, and the biographer's role in understanding his subject; this is an interview episode.
27 Jun 2025
Episode 9 (with Alexandra Urakova)
Alexandra Urakova analyzes Edgar Allan Poe's "The Man of the Crowd" through the lens of antebellum philanthropic discourse, offering insights into its interpretation and classroom application in this interview with the host.
28 Feb 2025
Episode 8 (with Amy Branam Armiento and Travis Montgomery)
In our eighth episode, I talk to Amy Branam Armiento and Travis Montgomery, the co-editors of Poe and Women: Recognition and Revision (Lehigh University Press and Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2023). Over the course of the discussion, Amy and Travis talk about their research backgrounds (1:47), illuminate the project’s origins and inspirations (5:36), and offer a breakdown of the book’s two sections with attention to each chapter (8:48), including Amy’s “Fifty Years of Women’s Scholarship on Poe” (10:08) and Travis’s “Afterword: Maureen Cobb Mabbott and The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe” (35:47). The conversation ends with a focus on the role of the Poe Studies Association in their scholarship (42:25) and some exciting announcements about their future work (45:40).
4 Nov 2024
Episode 7 (with John Gruesser and Tish Crawford)
Dr. John Gruesser and Dr. Norlisha (Tish) Crawford join me to discuss their co-edited special issue of Poe Studies, titled African American Authors Respond to Poe (2023). After I introduce the guests, John and Tish explain the origin and inspiration of the project (3:05). From there, they talk about the format of the issue (with its mix of creative responses, interviews, and critical essays) (6:18), read and reflect on Poe’s “Alone” and Linda D. Addison’s “On My Own” (10:58), and comment on the interviews and articles (19:46). Closing thoughts on the special issue revolve around scholarly attention to genre fiction and the construction of the canon (36:47). In the end, John and Tish preview some upcoming projects and publications (49:36). Like the special issue, this engaging interview highlights new perspectives on Poe and his work.
29 Jul 2024
Episode 6 (with John Tresch)
Dr. John Tresch, Mellon Chair and Professor of History of Art, Science, and Folk Practice at the Warburg Institute, joins me in an exciting conversation focused on The Reason for the Darkness in the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science (Straus and Giroux, 2021). We discuss the origins of the project and its unexpected track to becoming a biography (1:42), Poe’s early life and immersion in science (8:27), “Sonnet to Science” (13:22), “The Tell-Tale Heart” (18:28), the intersections between Poe and Alexander Dallas Bache and Joseph Henry (24:32), the parallel tracks that Poe and those men pursued in an attempt to institutionalize their fields (33:42), and Eureka (42:40). We close by talking about the upcoming special issue in Poe Studies focused on science, for which he wrote the introduction (52:59). The conversation is full of surprises and ideas that can inspire new perspectives and investigations for Poe studies!
3 Jun 2024
Episode 5 (with Scott Peeples)
Dr. Scott Peeples, Professor of English at the College of Charleston, joins me to talk about his recent book, The Man of the Crowd: Edgar Allan Poe and the City (Princeton University Press, 2020). We discuss the origins of the project and his previous work on Poe and place (1:19), the structure of the book and the focus on the city (13:34), some major arcs in his narrative (15:43), Poe and New York City (20:21), and the desperate itineracy that marked the last fifteen months of Poe’s life (25:49). We close by turning to the research and writing process (29:14), the evolving role of Michelle Van Parys’s photography in The Man of the Crowd (34:28), and his current work on Bob Dylan (37:18). Like The Man of the Crowd, this sit-down with Scott proves both engaging and illuminating.
1 Apr 2024
Episode 4 (with J. Gerald Kennedy)
Dr. J. Gerald Kennedy, Emeritus Boyd Professor of English at Louisiana State University, joins me in an intriguing conversation about some of his major publications and edited collections and his upcoming cultural biography on Poe. (Our talk also includes shout-outs to our previous guests, Richard Kopley, Kelly Ross, Emron Esplin, and Margarida Vale de Gato!) We start with a discussion of Poe, Death, and the Life of Writing and its relation to his current work (1:15). We then turn to three of his “greatest hits”—Romancing the Shadow: Poe and Race (18:10), Strange Nation: Literary Nationalism and Cultural Conflict in the Age of Poe (25:16), and The Oxford Handbook of Edgar Allan Poe (38:06). We close with continued attention to Jerry’s work-in-progress biography (44:57). As you’ll hear, the work promises to dig deep into Poe’s search for meaning in life and his yearning for the beyond.
19 Jan 2024
Episode 3 (with Emron Esplin and Margarida Vale de Gato)
In our third episode, I talk to Emron Esplin and Margarida Vale de Gato about Poe and his global influence, as well as the fields of translation and anthology studies. We discuss their research backgrounds (1:02), the origins of their working relationship and their first edited collection Translated Poe (6:46), major takeaways from and their individual chapters in Translated Poe (14:45), their second edited collection Anthologizing Poe and the importance of a critical focus on anthologies (40:05), the process of putting together an edited collection (51:26), and their future work (58:10).
-Caleb Doan, host of POEcast
17 Nov 2023
Episode 2 (with Kelly Ross)
In our second episode, I talk to Kelly Ross, Associate Professor at Rider University, about Poe and her critical triangulation of slavery, surveillance, and detective fiction, as detailed in her recent book, Slavery, Surveillance, and Genre in Antebellum United States Literature (Oxford UP, 2023). Over the course of our conversation, we discuss the origins of her book (1:12); modes of detection (2:33); genre (9:02); the second chapter of her book, which comparatively analyzes The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and Charles Ball’s Slavery in the United States (11:04); Poe’s Dupin stories (22:00); “Hop-Frog” (29:58); her advice to researchers and writers (32:20); connections between antebellum period and today (35:11); and recent trends in Poe scholarship (38:40).
--Caleb Doan, host of POEcast
15 Sept 2023
Episode 1 (with Richard Kopley)
In our first episode, I talk to Richard Kopley, Professor Emeritus of English at Penn State DuBois, about his upcoming critical biography Edgar Allan Poe: A Life, under contract with University of Virginia Press. In the interview, Richard discusses the primary inspiration for the project: a box of letters by Flora Lapham Mack (a member of the extended family of John H. MacKenzie, one of Poe’s lifelong friends) containing a series of stories about Poe previously unknown to the world (5:02). After previewing one of these new stories (10:02), we turn our attention to the research and writing process, focusing on his archival research experiences and insights, connections between biography and literary criticism, his work's relation to other Poe biographies, writing strategies, and more.
--Caleb Doan, host of POEcast
17 Aug 2023
POEcast Trailer
Welcome to POEcast: The Poe Studies Association Podcast, where we discuss Edgar Allan Poe and track recent trends in Poe studies. In this trailer, Caleb Doan introduces listeners to the pod and previews the first episode with Dr. Richard Kopley, which will be available to stream on Friday, September 15, 2023.
This podcast is hosted by Dr. Caleb Doan, Visiting Professor of English at Grand Valley State University, and produced by GVSU's Digital Studio. Our intro and closing music comes from "The Raven" by Destroyer. For more information on the Poe Studies Association, please visit our website at https://www.poestudiesassociation.org/. If you have questions for the host or ideas for future guests and episodes, please write to Caleb at poecastmailbox@gmail.com.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 21 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
18
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
Host of POEcast: The Poe Studies Association Podcast?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
