Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” a narrative poem about a grieving student mourning the death of his lost love—and his slow descent into madness after a mysterious talking bird visits him, was an immediate sensation and remains one of the most iconic poems in literary history. In his new book, Quothing “The Raven”: The First Responses to America’s Most Famous Poem (Mercer University Press, 2026), BC English Professor Emeritus Paul Lewis follows “The Raven” from the literary salons where it was discussed, to the newspapers where it was reviewed, to the 29 parodies that made fun of both the poem and its author. A Poe scholar, Lewis addresses why “The Raven” was widely reprinted, praised, criticized, and mocked during the years from its 1845 publication to Poe’s death in 1849.