A wit, a wag, a laugh-aloud humorist and satirist? A jaunty man of ideas, with his finger on the pulse of the science and technology of his age? An ornery literary prankster whose hoaxes fooled thousands of people? These are not common descriptions of Edgar Allan Poe, better known as a master of horror, gloom, and melancholy. This new and unique collection, edited and introduced by prize-winning poet and playwright Wim Coleman, introduces "The Poe You Don't Know" through works of wild hilarity such as "Never Bet the Devil Your Head," inventive science fiction such as "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," and philosophical speculation such as "The Power of Words." Also presented in its entirety is the brilliantly plausible "The Balloon-Hoax," Poe's newspaper story that astounded all of New York City with a detailed account of an aerial crossing of the Atlantic that never really happened. Readers of this book will be surprised to meet a playful, exuberant Poe whose reputation for Gothicism has too long dwarfed his capacity for merriment and speculation.