The literary life of John Tomlin, friend of Poe.

The writer's interest in John Tomlin, first aroused by allusions in Poe biographies to "Tomlin, the literary postmaster of Jackson, Tennessee," or "Tomlin, a poet of Tennessee," was further stimulated by those portions of the Poe-Tomlin correspondence in the biographies and in the Harrison edition of Poe's works. As the search for additional information concerning this relatively obscure Tennesseean preceeded, many persons who, for one reason or another, had also been interested in John Tomlin and had made preliminary investigation came to the writer's aid and generously made their information available. Their help is gratefully acknowledged below. It is the purpose of this preface to outline the method by which material was gathered and to list the most important sources.