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 From a letter addressed to Poe by William Wirt on May 11, 1829, we know that Poe had that day consulted the biographer of Patrick Henry, on Al Aaraaf. Wirt was puzzled by the poetry, pleaded that he was too old-fashioned to be a good judge of modern poetry. But he was kind to Poe, expressed the opinion that the work would please modern readers, that the notes contained "useful" information, and advised Poe to see the Philadelphia critics, Robert Walsh and Joseph Hopkinson.

From Poe's letters to John Allan we know he did see Walsh. And two surviving letters, May 27, and July 28, 1829 (the former still unprinted, but in the Drexel Institute, Philadelphia), tell us of negotiations with Carey, Lea and Carey of Philadelphia. This famous publishing firm was willing to bring out the volume, if guaranteed against possible loss. John Allan was unwilling to put up the cash, and Poe very politely declined publication on his own account, because he had made "a better disposition" of his poems than he "had any right to expect." To John Allan on November 18, Poe wrote from Baltimore "The Poems will be printed by Hatch & Dunning of this city upon terms advantageous to me they printing it & giving me 2 50 copies of the book." It may be argued that this does not absolutely preclude a guarantee of some kind, and it seems to have been difficult to account for the comparative rarity