The monograph examines the prose of Edgar Allan Poe from the point of view of the problem of the body in culture, which is relevant in modern humanities. The author has set himself the task of rereading Poe, contrary to the myths and stereotypes that have developed about him, restoring, if possible, the immanent historical and cultural context and exploring the disturbing materiality of his texts. The focus of the study is the figure of the observer and specific observation techniques; storytelling as a form of verbal violence and as a traumatic experience; special mimetic relationships into which body and body, body and text enter. Through the prism of the physical, an attempt is made to rethink the characteristic features of Poe’s poetics, to identify the internal logic and dynamics of his writing, to determine the psychological pattern, figurative and compositional originality of his stories. The book is addressed to both specialists (primarily philologists and cultural historians) and everyone who is interested in creativity Edgar Poe.ContentsFrom the authorIntroductionSubtracting the body"Undercurrent of meaning"Modern approachesChapter 1. The body in the space of the visibleWas Poe a flâneur?Pastoral and panoramaAnamorphosis: the logic of distortionThrough the keyholeTranslation-transpositionRestorationCombinationUnyielding materialThe effect of a semantic spotReflection as an alternative"Readable" bodyBoundary of "reading": Berenice's teethComic body image -textBody and grotesqueChapter 2. Bodily collapse and the break of the narrativeImpatient narratorBetween fiction and factBody, text, telegraphBody collapseHead of MedusaRomantic agonyHaving thrown away the “shield of Perseus”Autobiography as a palimpsest“What can I say about this? What will conscience say..."Labyrinth and doublingFace to face A story with a gapChapter 3. Poetics of sensations"Phenomenology of perception": hearing and touchSense, sensibility, sensationElectric shock of fearCloud of feeling: self-poisoningAlcohol vapor: the living weight of a nightmareMechanics of madnessClock mechanism: systole and diastoleSemiotics of a sick bodyEmptiness under mask A breeding ground for melancholy Infection of the narrator "His heart is a hanging lute..." "A silken alarming rustle..." About the dangers of reading "Infectious" text Afterword Difficulties of continuation Infection in action: a stolen letter SUMMARY Index of names