author
Paul Laurence Dunbar
1872–1906
One of the first Black writers in the United States to win broad national attention, he wrote poetry, fiction, and essays that brought everyday Black life into American literature with wit, music, and feeling. His work ranges from lyrical standard English verse to dialect poems that made him famous in his own time.
6 Audiobooks
The Strength of Gideon and Other Stories
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The Sport of the Gods
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The uncalled : A novel
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The heart of Happy Hollow : A collection of stories
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Folks from Dixie
by Paul Laurence Dunbar
About the author
Born in Dayton, Ohio, on June 27, 1872, to parents who had both been enslaved in Kentucky, Paul Laurence Dunbar showed literary talent early and began publishing while still young. He became one of the first African American authors to gain national and international recognition, helped by strong reviews and public readings that introduced his work to wide audiences in the United States and England.
Dunbar wrote across forms: poetry, short stories, novels, essays, and song lyrics. Collections such as Majors and Minors and Lyrics of Lowly Life helped establish his reputation, and readers especially noticed the contrast between his poems in standard English and those written in Black dialect. His career also included a period working at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., before he returned to writing more fully.
Though his life was short, his influence was lasting. Dunbar died on February 9, 1906, at just 33, but he remains a central figure in American literature and an important early voice whose work opened doors for later Black writers.