Mount Vernon Literary Tour: Edgar Allan Poe

Be Here Stories

The Mount Vernon Literary Tour is created by The Baltimore National Heritage Area (BNHA), which promotes, preserves, and enhances Baltimore's historic and cultural legacy and natural resources for current and future generations. A site-by-site walking tour of this and other destinations is available at www.https://bnha.visit.zone/ Located at 11 West Mulberry Street Transcript: Poe (b. 1809, d. 1849) lived in Baltimore during four crucial years of his life. In 1833, young and broke, he submitted some pieces to a local writing contest. The judges met here, the home of John Latrobe, and voted unanimously to award the fiction prize to Poe’s story “Ms. Found in a Bottle,” earning him a much-needed $50. (He nearly won the poetry award as well.) They published the story and launched Poe’s literary career. He went on to write some of the most memorable (and chilling) lines in American literature. His life and work—adapted for film, TV, music, and theater—made him a pop culture icon. With family roots in Baltimore, Poe visited the city often. He died here under mysterious circumstances and is buried not far from this spot. And so, Baltimore claims him for its own, even naming its football team after his most famous poem.