So, tonight I had an email exchange with my PhD advisor (I refuse to spell this word with an "e" and spell check always underlines it to my chagrin) that exemplifies how academics really think when they aren't bloviating in front of students.
ME:
I read The Journal of Julius Rodman, but I'm struggling to make anything out of it (which could just be exhaustion on my part after conferences). On one hand, I like the idea of Poe telling a fake travel narrative set in a counterfactual history that precedes Lewis and Clark's "accepted" narrative of western exploration. But, on the other hand, I'm struggling to try and make sense of how exactly Poe was wanting to challenge that narrative. The incompleteness of the work may also be impeding my thoughts on it...sigh.
HIM:
Clue 1 for Poe: much of it is deliberate Non-Sense.
ME:
So the medium is the message. Just writing the counterfactual history is enough for Poe. Making people believe it is an added bonus.
Poe was a dick.