Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906)
Paul Laurence Dunbar was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer, and one of the first African American writers to achieve national and international recognition. Born on June 27, 1872, in Dayton, Ohio, he was the son of two formerly enslaved people from Kentucky. Their experiences, and the wider reality of Black life in post-Civil War America, deeply influenced his writing.
Dunbar showed an exceptional talent for literature from an early age. At Dayton Central High School, where he was the only African American student in his class, he became editor of the school newspaper, president of the literary society, and class poet. He began publishing poems in local newspapers while still a teenager.
Despite his abilities, racial discrimination and financial difficulties prevented him from attending university. He worked as an elevator operator in Dayton while continuing to write. In 1893, he published his first collection, Oak and Ivy, at his own expense. His reputation grew rapidly, and his poetry soon appeared in major American publications.
Dunbar became particularly well known for poems written in African American dialect, which brought him considerable popularity. Yet his literary achievement was much broader. His poems in standard English often explored loneliness, identity, racial injustice, suffering, faith, love, dignity, and the struggle for freedom. His work also included novels, short stories, essays, and lyrics.
In 1896, he published Lyrics of Lowly Life, which established him as a major literary figure. The following year he travelled to England on a successful reading tour. After returning to the United States, he worked briefly at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., while continuing to publish poetry and fiction.
Dunbar's later years were marked by declining health. He developed tuberculosis and eventually left the Library of Congress to devote himself entirely to writing and public readings. Although his health deteriorated, he continued to produce poetry and prose. He returned to his mother's home in Dayton, Ohio, where he died on February 9, 1906, at the age of thirty-three.