Are the works of Edgar Allan Poe in the public domain?
Yes, as far as I know. Anything published prior to 01/01/1923 in the US is out of copyright, which includes all of Mr. Poe’s works. Otherwise, it’s “Life of the Author Plus 70 Years” as the copyright term in the US, IIRC.
A good (though by no means exhaustive) check of this is to check Project Gutenberg, at gutenberg.org. If it’s there, it’s in the public domain in the US.
It’s much more complicated than that for older works in the U.S…
See this copyright chart.
So according to the chart, anything before 1923 is in the public domain? Am I reading that right?
That would open a lot of H.P Lovecraft.
I just went to Google Books and downloaded a .pdf of Tales of Mystery and Imagination. They have a number of other works from him as well.
Some editions of public-domain material may still be under copyright, at least with respect to added front and back matter, annotations, illustrations and so forth. The basic text will be public domain, however. Just watch what you use.
Robin
Yes, everything prior to 1923.
You can get a complete (I think) bibliography at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
ETA. I typoed that as Internet Speculation Diction Database. What possibilities that opens up!
Why do you think Roger Corman made so many Poe adaptations? 