The brief but shining life of Paul Laurence Dunbar, a poet who gave dignity to the Black experience
- Written by Minnita Daniel-Cox, Associate Professor of Music, University of Dayton
A 1902 portrait of Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty ImagesPaul Laurence Dunbar was only 33 years old when he died in 1906.
In his short yet prolific life, Dunbar used folk dialect to give voice and dignity to the experience of Black Americans at the turn of the 20th century. He was the first Black American to make a living as a...