Paul Laurence Dunbar

A Pioneer of Black American Literature

An illustration of Paul Laurence Dunbar in 1903 with the Washington, DC as a backdrop. Copyright © Unique Coloring.

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a highly influential black poet, novelist, and playwright during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He conquered racial barriers to become one of the first African American writers to gain national recognition. 

Paul’s works are known for their rich language and imagery and for capturing the essence of black American life during the post-Civil War and Reconstruction eras. His unique ability to write in standard English and regional black dialects allowed him to reach a broad audience.

Paul faced numerous hardships in his life, including racism, financial struggles, and health issues. Despite these challenges, he remained dedicated to his craft, publishing numerous books of poetry, short stories, and four novels, as well as plays and lyrics for musical productions. 

Some of his most famous works include the poetry collections Oak and Ivy and Majors and Minors and the lyrics for the first successful all-black musical, In Dahomey. His immense talent and important contributions to American literature have left a lasting legacy and continue to inspire new generations of writers and readers up to this day.

The Early Life and Education of Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar, a luminary among the ranks of African American poets, was born on a warm June day in 1872 in Dayton, Ohio. His parents, Joshua and Matilda Murphy Dunbar were once enslaved in the state of Kentucky before gaining their freedom. Paul’s parents raised two sons, Robert and William Murphy, from Matilda’s previous marriage.

Though his parents parted ways soon after Paul’s arrival into the world, their tales of life on the plantation and their struggles against the chains of enslavement would serve as a wellspring of inspiration for his literary pursuits.

Paul Laurence Dunbar and his mother, Matilda.

Paul’s talent manifested early in his life when he attended high school in Dayton, where he lived with his mother after his father’s death. He was the only black student in his graduating class of 1890. Segregated high schools were not viable in Dayton because of the low number of black American students.

Paul was editor-in-chief of the high school newspaper while participating in the literary and drama clubs and engaging in the debating society. He also had a classmate who would become famous as an aviator: Orville Wright. With his brother Wilbur, Orville is recognized for inventing, constructing, and piloting the world’s first successful motor-powered aircraft.

Orville Wright did not finish high school, but he helped Paul print a newspaper for the black community in West Dayton. Paul was the editor and publisher of the Dayton Tattler, which lasted for three issues in December of 1890.

Paul longed to attend college or break into journalism after graduation, but the financial difficulty and limited opportunities blacks experienced in Dayton prevented him from doing either. He struggled to make a living as a writer, so he took various jobs in downtown Dayton, such as cleaning an office building and operating an elevator. 

Paul had a passion for writing poetry and short stories in his free time. An opportunity came in 1892 when a former teacher invited him to speak at Dayton’s Western Association of Writers convention. His reading impressed poet James Newton Matthews, who wrote an article praising Paul that was published widely in the Midwest. This article helped Paul publish his first poetry collection, Oak and Ivy, in 1893.

He used his elevator job at the Callahan Building as a chance to sell the book to the passengers he met. Paul’s writing career flourished at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, where he met and earned the admiration of civil rights leader Frederick Douglass. His fame and sales increased even more in 1896 when renowned literary critic William Dean Howells reviewed his dialect poems for Harper’s Weekly. 

That review had a downside. Howells’ compliment of Paul’s dialect poems made it harder for the poet to market his other forms of writing. However, that very review also propelled Paul to worldwide recognition. He embarked on a six-month tour across the United States and Great Britain, captivating public audiences with readings of his poetry.

Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Caged Bird Sings

Modern lithographic painting of Paul Laurence Dunbar stacking shelves in the Library of Congress in 1897. Copyright © Unique Coloring.

Paul returned to America and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1897 to work as a clerk at the Library of Congress, stacking shelves. But his health was failing as his literary fame rose, and he soon quit his job. Around that time, he had a turbulent romance with Alice Ruth Moore, another poet he wooed mostly through letters. They eloped and got married in New York on March 6, 1898. They never had any children. 

Alice, who was also a talented writer, said that it was while working at the Library of Congress that Paul got the idea of a caged bird as a metaphor.

In his poem “Sympathy,” Paul penned a truly memorable line that has become a significant contribution to black literature: “I know why the caged bird sings.” This iconic phrase can be found in the final stanza of the poem.

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,  
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—
I know why the caged bird sings!

The renowned black author and activist Maya Angelou was inspired by Paul’s 1899 poem, “Sympathy,” to choose his line as the title for her groundbreaking autobiography published in 1969.

The Tragic Fate of a Literary Genius

Paul wrote four novels in his career, but only one featured African American characters as the main protagonists. The other three novels focused on the lives and experiences of white people, namely The Uncalled (1898), The Love of Landry (1900), and The Fanatics (1901). 

Some critics have accused Paul of being an accommodationist, meaning he tried to please the white audience and avoid confronting racial issues. But Paul’s novels demonstrate the versatility and diversity of a black American author who worked within the constraints and expectations of the American literary establishment in the early 1900s.

Paul was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1899, a deadly disease that had no cure at the time. This diagnosis affected his relationship with Alice. He started drinking to cope with his pain and became an alcoholic. He also abused Alice physically and emotionally until she left him for good in 1902. They never divorced. 

Alice kept his name and supported his writing until she died in 1935. Paul never saw her again. He spent the last three years of his life with his mother in a house on Summit Street (now Paul Laurence Dunbar Street) in Dayton, where he died on February 9, 1906. His poetry inspired Harlem Renaissance writers like James Weldon Johnson, Claude McKay, and Langston Hughes in the 1920s and still influences modern American literature. 

Paul Laurence Dunbar is buried in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton.

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