In MARK TWAIN’S LIBRARY: A RECONSTRUCTION. — Gribben does indicate that
other scholars (Duckett and Scott) have indicated that “Genius” was likely
based on Poe. Gribben also points to an 1864 burlesque of “The Raven”
titled “The Mysterious Chinaman” as a Poe influenced piece.

It seems reasonable to conclude that the AMERICA may have had on board any
number of works by Poe that were in print at that time that would have
triggered the writing of “Genius.”

Barb