Poe, Ed ‧ gar Al ‧ lan /pəʊ, ˈedɡəʳ ˈælən/ BrE AmE
(1809–49) a US poet and writer of short stories. He is best known for his strange, frightening stories about death and evil powers such as ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. Another story, ‘The Murders in the Rue Morgue’, was one of the first ↑ detective stories. His best known poem is ‘The Raven’.