The Poetry of Paul Laurence...
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27th, 1872 in Dayton Ohio. His parents had been slaves in Kentucky before the Civil War.
Dunbar wrote his first poem at age 6 and gave his first public recital at age 9. By 16 he was already published as a poet in ‘The Herald’, a local newspaper.
After completing his formal schooling in 1891, Dunbar was employed as an elevator operator, at $4 a week. His hopes of a legal career floundered on a lack of funds and racial discrimination. However, he wrote his poetry and took every opportunity to publish. In 1892 his employers sent him to the United Brethren Publishing House which, in 1893, printed his dialect poetry, ‘Oak and Ivy; Dunbar subsidized the printing and earned back his investment in two weeks by selling copies himself.
Dunbar also wrote the lyrics for ‘In Dahomey’, the first musical written and performed entirely by African Americans. It was produced on Broadway in 1903; and then toured England and the United States for four years.
After returning from a literary tour of United Kingdom, Dunbar married Alice Ruth Moore on March 6th, 1898. She was a teacher and poet from New Orleans. Dunbar called her "the sweetest, smartest little girl I ever saw". Alice would become as famous as Paul during her life for her own literary works.
In 1900, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and his doctors recommended drinking whisky to alleviate his symptoms. The couple moved to Colorado as the cold, dry mountain air was considered favorable for his health. Dunbar and Alice separated in 1902, but never divorced. But Depression and declining health drove him to depend on alcohol, and health deteriorated.
His short career was prolific; a dozen books of poetry, four books of short stories, four novels, lyrics for ‘In Dahomey’, and a play. Dunbar’s essays and poems were published widely in leading journals including ‘Harper's Weekly’ and ‘The Saturday Evening Post’. He was also a committed civil rights activist.
In 1904 he returned to Dayton to be with his mother.
Paul Laurence Dunbar died of tuberculosis on February 9th, 1906, at the age of only thirty-three.
01 - The Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar. An Introduction
02 - Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar
03 - At Sunset Time by Paul Laurence Dunbar
04 - Invitation to Love by Paul Laurence Dunbar
05 - How Shall I Woo Thee by Paul Laurence Dunbar
06 - Morning Song of Love by Paul Laurence Dunbar
07 - Then and Now by Paul Laurence Dunbar
08 - Despair by Paul Laurence Dunbar
09 - If I Could But Forget by Paul Laurence Dunbar
10 - The Awakening by Paul Laurence Dunbar
11 - The Phantom Kiss by Paul Laurence Dunbar
12 - The Lover and the Moon by Paul Laurence Dunbar
13 - On A Sea Wall by Paul Laurence Dunbar
14 - Anchored by Paul Laurence Dunbar
15 - Ships That Pass in the Night by Paul Laurence Dunbar
16 - The Mystic Sea By Paul Laurence Dunbar
17 - The River of Ruin by Paul Laurence Dunbar
18 - Life's Tragedy by Paul Laurence Dunbar
19 - The Fount of Tears by Paul Laurence Dunbar
20 - The Rising of the Storm by Paul Laurence Dunbar
21 - After Many Days by Paul Laurence Dunbar
22 - Day by Paul Laurence Dunbar
23 - Evening by Paul Laurence Dunbar
24 - Summer in the South by Paul Laurence Dunbar
25 - To the South by Paul Laurence Dunbar
26 - Right's Security by Paul Laurence Dunbar
27 - Lincoln by Paul Laurence Dunbar
28 - Booker T Johnson by Paul Laurence Dunbar
29 - The Haunted Oak by Paul Laurence Dunbar
30 - The Change Has Come by Paul Laurence Dunbar
31 - The Conquerors - The Black Troops in Cuba by Paul Laurence Dunbar
32 - Ode to Ethiopi
Show book
