The Valley of Unrest: Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories. Once it smiled a silent dell Where the people did not dwell; They had gone unto the wars, Trusting to the mild-eyed stars, Nightly, from their azure towers, To keep watch above the flowers, In the midst of which all day The red sun-light lazily lay.