Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar (* June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio; † February 9, 1906 ) was an American writer. He was one of the first black poet who gained recognition throughout the United States.
Life
Dunbar was the son of former slaves from Kentucky. He attended the High School in Dayton; there he was the only African- American in his class. One of his classmates was Orville Wright, Paul worked for his family mother. Already during his school years he showed his first literary talent, was a member of the literary circle and edited the school newspaper. With the support of the Wright brothers, he could issue his first newspaper, The Dayton Tattler.
After high school, forced by financial circumstances to work as an elevator operator. At a meeting of the Western Association of Writers in 1892, he stated on the invitation of former teacher poems and impressed in such a way that he received a letter of recommendation from well-known poet James Whitcomb Riley. In the same year he published his first volume of poetry, Oak and Ivy. After moving to Chicago he met on Frederick Douglass, who called him: called "the most promising young colored man in America ( dt of the most promising young colored man in America) ." Dunbar's poems have been published in well-known newspapers such as the New York Times. With his second collection of poems Majors and Minors - Majors represents texts in standard English and Minors for texts in dialect - he was so successful that we invited him to a six-month lecture tour to England. After his return to America he got a job at the Library of Congress in Washington. There he met and married the author Alice Ruth Moore. In Washington created another novel and two poetry collections. Also during this time some libretti emerged. As Dunbar in 1898 with tuberculosis, he returned to Dayton and devoted himself to writing and readings. In 1902 he separated from his wife. His tomb can be found on the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum in Dayton.
Work
Dunbar presented in his novels and poems, often using dialect, the experiences of African Americans and the old southern USA dar. Through its varied language, he reached a wide audience.
Works (selection)
- Oak and Ivy (1893 )
- Lyrics of love and laughter (1903 )
- Lyrics of sunshine and shadow (1905 )