PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR PAGE

PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR

June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906

Paul Laurence Dunbar was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer who became one of the first African American authors to earn national and international acclaim. Born to formerly enslaved parents in Dayton, Ohio, he published the collections Oak and Ivy, Majors and Minors, and Lyrics of Lowly Life, gaining fame for both dialect verse and poetry in standard English. His works include We Wear the Mask and Sympathy, which influenced figures from the Harlem Renaissance to Maya Angelou. He produced over 400 poems, four novels, short stories, essays, and Broadway lyrics before his death at 33 from tuberculosis.

MANY WRITERS, POETS, AND STORYTELLERS HAVE STOOD ON DUNBAR'S SHOULDERS. HE HAS PAVED THE WAY WITH A LEGACY THAT IS RICH WITH A VAST AND STRONG FOUNDATION, OPENING THE DOOR FOR PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE WRITERS, POETS, AND NARRATIVE ARTISTS, WHO ARE OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA TO GROW AND BE FRUITFUL IN THE ART OF THE SPOKEN AND WRITTEN WORD.

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Paul Laurence Dunbar helped establish a literary foundation for the writers of the Harlem Renaissance and later generations. His poetry and fiction portrayed African American life with dignity, humor, sorrow, and social insight. He wrote in both standard English and African American dialect, while works such as “We Wear the Mask” exposed the hidden suffering caused by racism.

Harlem Renaissance writers—including Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Jean Toomer, Zora Neale Hurston, and Sterling A. Brown—built upon Dunbar’s achievements. Hughes and Brown continued his use of Black speech, music, folklore, and everyday experience. McKay and Cullen expanded the tradition of formal poetry addressing racial injustice, while Hurston and Toomer explored Black culture, language, identity, and community through fiction.

Later writers such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and August Wilson carried this legacy forward. Like Dunbar, they transformed African American history and experience into literature of universal importance. Together, these writers stood on Dunbar’s shoulders by extending the voice he helped make visible, speaking honestly about oppression while celebrating Black creativity, resilience, culture, and humanity.

ALONG WITH ME AND THE LOVE OF DUNBAR COLLECTIVE JOIN US AND TAKE IN THE LEGACY OF PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR