Buranelli,  Vincent, Edgar Allan Poe,  2nd ed.,  Boston:

Twayne Publishers, 1977.

Buranelli's concise book briefly discusses each of the author's works of poetry, prose and criticism, providing a good general sense of context but not much depth.

Carlson, Eric W., ed., The Recognition of Edgar Allan Poe: Selected Criticism Since 1829, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1969.

This book contains essays of critics ranging from Poe's early publications through to the 1960s. Some of the most important literary figures of the last two hundred years are represented here: Baudelaire, Swinburne, Henry James, Dostoevski, T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, Richard Wilbur, and many more. Of particular interest is the obituary published by the Reverend Rufus Griswold using the pseudonym "Ludwig": the slanderous lies told in this article haunted Poe's literary reputation for years.

Dayan, Joan, "Amorous Bondage: Poe, Ladies and Slaves," in The American Face of...