The Southern Literary Messenger enjoyed an impressive thirty-year run (18341864) and was, in its time, the South's most important literary periodical. Published in Richmond, Virginia, the monthly magazine was originally edited by Edgar Allan Poe and published poems, fiction, and essays by the nation's leading authors -- both male and female, northern and southern.Minor's authoritative account of the journal's history and influence is augmented in this edition with a new introduction by Wells that places Minor's account in historical context.