




I need to clarify something here. I did not learn directly from Edgar Allan Poe that the finest prose is engineered to be read aloud. It occurred to me one day in 1995 while reading the first paragraph of one of Poe’s short stories that his prose was intended to be read aloud; and it further occurred to me that Poe could not possibly be the only writer or great prose stylist that intended his prose to be read aloud. I immediately realized that there must be a multitude of other writers who intended their prose writings to be read aloud as well. This actually happened in San Luis Obispo, California, while I was in Barnes and Noble one evening with a compilation of Poe’s prose writings in my hands. It was an epiphany, and it changed the trajectory of my life immediately. In less than one week, thanks to George Saintsbury, I came to know exactly who the greatest prose engineers of all time were, and from that time until the present day, I have read their prose writings aloud over and over, memorized verbatim long passages of their best prose, and have recited those passages every day for over thirty years. I study every day, and I always will. And, of course, I too write for the ear as much as I do for the mind.
