Paul Lawrence Dunbar Essays - Paul Laurence Dunbar,

Paul Lawrence Dunbar Paul Lawrence Dunbar, was the first important African American Poet in American Literature and the first poet to write of both a black and white audience in a time when efforts were being made to re-establish slavery. He was also "the first African-American poet to garner national critical acclaim"(43). During his short lifetime Dunbar became known as the "poet laureate of African Americans" (Columbus 45). Paul Lawrence Dunbar was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1872, to two freed slaves. Both of Dunbar's parents, who had been born slaves, had a love for literature. His father Joshua, had escaped slavery, moved to Canada, and returned to fight in the Civil War. It was after the war that he met and married Dunbar's mother, Matilda. Matilda and Joshua had two children before he passed away in 1874, (some sources say they may have been divorced). Dunbar had written his first poem when he was seven years old. It was through his mother Matilda, that Dunbar earned a love for literature, for she would teach her children the art of songs and storytelling (Draper 622). He was an excellent, well-behaved and diligent student, and graduated from high school with honors in 1891. Even though he was the only African American in the school, he was elected class president and delivered the class's graduation poem (Harris 107). Dunbar's initial open reading was on his birthday in 1892. A past teacher of his had given him the opportunity to give the convivial address to the Western Association of Writers when they gathered in Dayton, Ohio. It was then that Dunbar met and became friends with James Newton Matthews who wrote to a paper in Illinois admiring Dunbar's work. The letter was later reprinted in several papers across the country giving Dunbar local attention (Columbus 32). Since the death of his father seven years before, he had to work to support himself and his mother. After his graduation he could only find employment as an elevator operator. In between calls he would write poems and articles for various Midwestern newspapers while studying some of his favorite poets, including Shakespeare, Tennyson, Keats, Poe, and Longfellow (Harris 107, 108). Dunbar's style of writing was like that of none other during his time period, as thought by other poets. "Dunbar had developed a style that was double-voiced about race; seemingly carefree in Black dialect but more serious and brooding when in standard English. The perhaps best and most famous of his dialect poems was When Malindy Sings, featured on the front page of The Observer, published as a tribute after his death" (Young 125). In 1893 he took out a loan to publish his first book titled Oak and Ivy after some important literary figures began to take notice to his work. Through his writing Dunbar described his observations of society and the experience of his parents giving voice to the social problem of people in his day and became known for his proclaimed sense of black dignity (Draper 622, 623). Also in 1893, he was invited to recite at the World's Fair, where he came to know Frederick Douglas, the famous abolitionist who emerged from slavery to political and legendary fame in America. Douglas called Dunbar "the most promising young colored man in America" (324). As the demand for his poetry grew, Dunbar began to cultivate literary friendships that helped him publish more of his works (Columbus 32, 35). In 1895, Dunbar moved to Toledo, Ohio where with the help of Charles A. Thatcher and Henry A. Tobey, he began to recite his poems at nearby libraries and literary assemblies. They also funded his second book of poetry titled Majors and Minors. It was Dunbar's second book that bestowed him into national fame. William Dean Howells, a well-known literary critic and Editor of Harper's Weekly honored Dunbar's work in one of his weekly columns, thus making his name highly respected across the country (Rizvi 123). Although Dunbar wrote poetry in standard English the public preferred his poetry in dialects and that is what he mainly sold (Marshall 309). It was then that he married the African American poet Alice Ruth Moore in March of 1898 after returning from England. During his prime, generosity was showered on him and he readily partook of it, and began drinking heartily after he and his wife Alice separated. Dunbar was ill for most of his life and eventually died of tuberculosis February 9, 1906. Before his death he produced twelve books of poetry, four books of short stories, a