Tamerlane and Other Poems
Edgar Allan Poe's 1827 debut, credited only to 'a Bostonian'. Around a dozen copies survive of the most valuable anonymous debut in American letters.
- Original byline
- By a Bostonian
- Published
- 1827
- Form
- Poems
- Authorship
- Revealed: Edgar Allan Poe
- Attribution source
- Wikidata P50 (Q1683589); Wikipedia note
- How it came out
- acknowledged by the author in later collections
- Reason for anonymity
- Unrecorded
- Copyright
- Public domain
- Reference
- Wikipedia · Wikidata
The authorship story
Tamerlane and Other Poems was printed in Boston in 1827 in an edition of perhaps fifty copies, its author given only as 'a Bostonian'. Poe was eighteen, estranged from his foster father, and enlisted in the Army under a false name; the anonymity fit the wreckage. The pamphlet sank without a review, and Poe acknowledged the poems in his later collections. About a dozen copies are known to survive, making 'the Black Tulip of American book collecting' one of the most valuable rarities in the hobby. The most famous name in American poetry began as nobody.
Questions readers ask
Who wrote Tamerlane and Other Poems?
Tamerlane and Other Poems was published as By a Bostonian and is documented as the work of Edgar Allan Poe. (acknowledged by the author in later collections). Source: Wikidata P50 (Q1683589); Wikipedia note.
Can I read Tamerlane and Other Poems for free?
Yes. Tamerlane and Other Poems is in the public domain and the full text is free to read at the Internet Archive.
When was Tamerlane and Other Poems published?
Tamerlane and Other Poems was published in 1827, credited to By a Bostonian.
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