Edgar Allan Poe, a pioneer of gothic literature, is rarely credited with insights into cosmology, yet his speculative work Eureka: A Prose Poem (1848) remarkably anticipated ideas that resonate with the Big Bang theory. In Eureka, Poe proposed that the universe originated from a single primordial particle, an idea that later found a scientific parallel in modern cosmology. He suggested that this particle expanded outward in a divine act of creation, a concept he linked to the mind of God.¹ Poe’s poetic vision and metaphysical musings have drawn the attention of modern scholars, and even notable physicists like Alexander Friedmann, who greatly admired Poe, recognized the depth of his insights.²

Poe’s cosmology was rooted in the belief that all things originated from a unity of matter. As he wrote, “All matter, springing from one particle… flows outward by a divine volition, filling space with the conditions of life and motion.”³ For Poe, this particle was not merely a physical reality but a manifestation of God’s creative mind—a profound merging of science and theology. His understanding of a singularity from which the universe emerged anticipated the later “primeval atom” proposed by Georges Lemaître, the foundational idea of what we now call the Big Bang theory.⁴ This perspective is strikingly harmonious with Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” reflecting the ultimate source of creation as divine.

Big Bang Model

The connection between Poe and Alexander Friedmann, a Russian mathematician and physicist whose equations paved the way for the modern Big Bang theory, adds another layer of intrigue. Friedmann, known for his solutions to Einstein’s field equations, admired Poe’s work and reportedly saw Eureka as a visionary precursor to modern cosmology.⁵ Friedmann’s models of an expanding universe echoed the expansive motion Poe envisioned, though Friedmann grounded his work in rigorous mathematics and observational evidence. The intellectual synergy between Poe’s poetic speculation and Friedmann’s scientific rigor illustrates how imaginative literature can inspire and parallel scientific discovery.

From Eureka by Poe

My personal connection to Poe also weaves into this narrative. I became so captivated by his work and its conceptual depth that I wrote a science fiction screenplay pilot called Nevermore for Paramount Pictures. While the pilot was ultimately not used and now resides somewhere within their collection of unused projects, the process of writing it was immensely rewarding. It was thrilling to have a major studio consider a work inspired by Poe, whose ideas continue to resonate across disciplines and challenge conventional boundaries between literature and science.

Poe’s ideas about the cosmos also included an oscillatory model: he suggested that the universe, driven by the forces of gravity, might one day contract back into its original state.⁶ This cyclical view of creation and collapse finds resonance in modern theories that explore the possibility of a contracting universe under certain conditions. Theologically, this reflects a profound truth about God’s sovereignty over time and space. As Psalm 102:25-26 declares, “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain.” Poe’s vision of a universe that begins and ends in divine order echoes the biblical concept of God’s eternal nature and control over the cosmos.

Edgar Allan Poe’s cosmological insights, deeply tied to his theological reflections, underscore his belief in a universe both profoundly physical and profoundly divine. Eureka suggests that the single particle that birthed existence did so as a direct result of God’s creative mind, intertwining science, philosophy, and theology in a way that continues to captivate readers and thinkers alike. With admirers such as Alexander Friedmann and ideas that echo across centuries, Poe’s speculative genius serves as a reminder of how the boundaries between literature, theology, and science can dissolve in the pursuit of understanding the cosmos. As Colossians 1:17 affirms, “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Poe’s poetic reflections on the origins of the universe point, ultimately, to the God who holds all creation in His hands.

¹ Edgar Allan Poe, Eureka: A Prose Poem (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1848), 7.

² Alexander Friedmann’s admiration for Poe is documented in Andrei Linde, Particle Physics and Inflationary Cosmology (New York: Springer, 1990), 3.

³ Poe, Eureka, 12.

⁴ Georges Lemaître, “A Homogeneous Universe of Constant Mass and Increasing Radius,” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 91 (1931): 483–490.

⁵ Andrei Linde, Particle Physics and Inflationary Cosmology, 3.

⁶ Poe, Eureka, 14.