Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 ? October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short-story writer, editor, and literary critic, and is considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and invented the detective-fiction genre. He is credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction.Stableford, Brian. "Science fiction before the genre." The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, Eds. Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn. Cambridge: Cambridge University of Press, 2003. pp. 18?19. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.Meyers, 138 He was born Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts. Poe, whose parents died when he was young, was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virgini