Rufus Griswold

Rufus Wilmot Griswold (February 13, 1815 – August 27, 1857) was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. He was born in Benson, Vermont, one of the youngest children out of fourteen, and became a reverend in 1837. He is known as the archenemy of Edgar Allan Poe, intent on destroying the poet's reputation. There are misconceptions that are still believed of today, such as Poe being alcoholic.

Background
The feud began when Poe sent a collection of poems for Griswold's anthology, The Poets and Poetry of America, which included three works of Poe's. When asked to write a review, rather than praising it, Poe criticized his literary judgement. While Poe ridiculed Griswolf's works, in return, Griswold composed an essay that criticized Poe's editorial skills. They had also rivaled the attention of Frances Osgood, and never reconciled.

After Poe's death in 1849, Griswold started a smear campaign, that brought the image of Poe to be a drunkard and addicted to opium. In the obituary, he wrote, "Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. This announcement will startle many, but few will be grieved by it." It was continued, "walked the streets, in madness or melancholy, with lips moving in indistinct curses, or with eyes upturned in passionate prayers, (never for himself, for he felt, or professed to feel, that he was already damned)." He convinced Poe's mother-in-law to give the rights of the works to him, and added his own biography of Poe. He had fabricated passages from letters, and even quotes, that praised himself.

Despite it being inaccurate, audiences seemingly were not perturbed by the depiction, and rather, welcomed it, to fit their image of a tormented artist. Griswold died from tuberculosis in his room in New York, 1857, which hung three portraits: himself, Osgood, and Poe.

Trivia

 * After Poe left his position of editor at Graham's Magazine, Griswold took the position and was paid a higher salary.
 * Poe's friends, such as Sarah Helen Whitman, wrote her own biography of Poe, that was far more accurate.