e Army, Poe went back to Richmond to visit the Allen’s. After having another dispute with Mr. Allen, he moved to Baltimore to live with his Aunt Maria Clemm and his cousin, Virginia. He was unemployed and trying to find work. In 1831, Poe decided to seek employment and make his living by writing. He published one of his first works, Poems by Edgar Allen Poe. Failing to get attention with is poems, he decided to start writing short stories. Poe competed in a contest by the Phil-Saturday Courier for the best short story in 1831. He did not win the prize. This made Poe very determined to start a new project. He decided to plan a series of tales told by members of a literary group. He found no publisher for his stories, but still entered another contest again in June of 1835. This time, he sent one poem and six stories. His story, “Ms. Found in a Bottle,” won. He received one hundred dollars for it. Through the influence of one of the judges, John P. Kennedy, Poe became employed as an editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, published in Richmond. Under Poe’s editorship, the Messenger’s circulation rose from 500 to 3500. While in Richmond, Poe married his cousin, Virginia, who was not quite fourteen years old. He was eventually fired from the Messenger in January 1837 because of his drinking problem.Poe then went to New York, where he was very unsuccessful. In the summer of 1838, he moved to Philadelphia. While there, he worked as an editor of both Burton’s Gentlemen’s Magazine and Graham’s Magazine. He entered another contest and won one hundred dollars for his story “The Gold Bug”. Even though he won this prize, he moved back to New York and found a job as an assistant editor for the Evening Mirror. This was where “The Raven” first appeared on January 29, 1845. Even though the poem was a great success and got published all over the country, Poe still did not get muc...
