Episode 5 (with Scott Peeples)

Dr. Scott Peeples, Professor of English at the College of Charleston, joins me to talk about his recent book, The Man of the Crowd: Edgar Allan Poe and the City (Princeton University Press, 2020). We discuss the origins of the project and his previous work on Poe and place (1:19), the structure of the book and the focus on the city (13:34), some major arcs in his narrative (15:43), Poe and New York City (20:21), and the desperate itineracy that marked the last fifteen months of Poe’s life (25:49). We close by turning to the research and writing process (29:14), the evolving role of Michelle Van Parys’s photography in The Man of the Crowd (34:28), and his current work on Bob Dylan (37:18). Like The Man of the Crowd, this sit-down with Scott proves both engaging and illuminating.