History
Since its founding in 1972, the Poe Studies Association has facilitated the exchange of ideas regarding the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49).
Presidents of the Poe Studies Association
Eric W. Carlson (1973-1978)
J. Lasley Dameron (1978-1980)
Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV (1980-1984)
Kent P. Ljungquist (1984-1986)
David H. Hirsch (1986-1988)
Glen A. Omans (1988-1992)
Liliane Weissberg (1992-1996)
J. Gerald Kennedy (1996-2000)
Richard Kopley (2000-2004)
Scott Peeples (2004-2008)
Stephen Rachman (2008-2010)
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney (2010-2012)
John Gruesser (2012-2014)
Philip Edward Phillips (2014-2016)
Paul Lewis (2016-2018)
Amy Branam Armiento (2018-2022)
Philip Edward Phillips (elected 2022)
Publications: In 1973 the organization launched a bi-annual publication, The Poe Studies Association Newsletter, first edited by members Eric Carlson and John Reilly. Subsequent editors have included Kent Ljungquist, J. Lasley Dameron, Lynette Black, Richard Kopley, and Barbara Cantalupo. The complete run of the Newsletter (1973-1999) is available online at this site for all interested readers and scholars. In June of 2000, the Newsletter was transformed into the peer-reviewed journal, The Edgar Allan Poe Review, under the editorship of Barbara Cantalupo and sponsored by both the PSA and Penn State Lehigh Valley. In Fall of 2004, Richard Fusco and Peter Norberg became co-editors, and the journal moved from Penn State to St. Joseph's University. Barbara Cantalupo resumed the editorship in Fall 2007. Beginning with the Spring 2013 issue, the journal became part of The Pennsylvania State University Press journals collection.
Conferences: The MLA sessions are organized by the PSA vice president and the ALA sessions by the members-at-large. Additionally, the PSA sponsors a series of international scholarly conferences, held once every three years. The first was held at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia, in October 1999, in honor of the sesquicentennial of Poe’s death and was organized by Richard Kopley. One hundred and twenty papers were presented; two hundred and forty people attended from many parts of the world. The second international conference, organized by Richard Kopley, with program determined by Scott Peeples, was held in Towson, Maryland, in October 2002. The Third International Edgar Allan Poe Conference: The Bicentennial was held at the Hyatt Waterfront Hotel in Philadelphia in October 2009 co-chaired by Barbara Cantalupo and Stephen Rachman. The fourth international conference, co-chaired by Barbara Cantalupo and Richard Kopley, was held in New York City at the Roosevelt Hotel, February 26 to March 1, 2015. The fifth international conference, Poe Takes Boston, co-organized by Richard Kopley and Paul Lewis, with program determined by Philip Edward Phillips, was held in Boston at the historic Omni Parker House Hotel in April 2022.
Awards: The PSA awards honorary membership to scholars whose contributions to Poe research are significant and who show exemplary commitment to the goals of the PSA. While Richard Kopley was PSA vice president and then PSA president, he helped establish two awards for exemplary Poe research in a given year: The Patrick F. Quinn Award given for outstanding books on Poe and the James W. Gargano Award given for outstanding articles on Poe. In 2016, the PSA added the J. Lasley Dameron Award given for outstanding Poe bibliographies or essay collections on Poe. Lists of the recipients of these awards appear on the Awards page.
