Showing results by author "Paul Dunbar" in All Categories

In this captivating collection of short stories, Paul Laurence Dunbar draws on the success of his acclaimed dialect poems to vividly recreate life on southern plantations during the era of slavery. The narratives present a stereotypical image of slaves as dutiful and content workers, dedicated to their seemingly benevolent owners. While Dunbars portrayal sparked criticism and, at times, outrage for its clichéd representations, the book itself proved to be more financially rewarding than his earlier fiction endeavors. (Summary by Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University)

Sport of the Gods is a powerful novel by Paul Laurence Dunbar, first published in 1902, that dives deep into the complexities of urban black life. As a family is forced to leave the South, they confront the harsh realities of life in the Northern inner city, revealing the struggles and challenges that often shatter the dreams of African Americans. This poignant exploration from 1902 remains strikingly relevant today.

In Love of Landry, one of Dunbars four novels, we delve into the life of Mildred Osborne, an Eastern aristocrat seeking recuperation at a remote ranch in Colorado. As she navigates a world defined by distinct social norms and the scarcity of women, Mildred embarks on a transformative journey of self-discovery. Though the novel lacks direct representation of black characters, it subtly addresses themes of societal prejudice and the complexities of male identity in America. Ultimately, Mildred uncovers the true nature of Landry and realizes he is deserving of her love. Summary by Jim Locke.

When The Sport of the Gods opens, the Hamilton family is doing relatively well. They have stable jobs and good reputations as servants for a wealthy Southern family - but they also have little sense of how tenuous their existence has become. When money goes missing, the supposed victim points a finger at patriarch Berry Hamilton, and Berry is sentenced to ten years of hard labor. In response, Berry’s wife, Fannie, and his two children, Joe and Kit, migrate to New York City. Their hope is that the great city of the North will provide them with a fresh start.

Berry Hamilton was living a pretty good life - up until he was accused of stealing money from his employer. Despite having worked for the family for 20 years, Berry is found guilty of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to prison. As his wife and children turn to the community, they find themselves shunned. Left with no other choice, Fannie Hamilton and her two children, Joe and Kitty, pick everything up and move to Harlem.

After Douglass’ death, Paul Laurence Dunbar laments his passing and the problems experienced by African Americans in the elegiac poem "Frederick Douglass". The poem provides valuable insights into the situation of the African-American community in the late 19th century.

Poetry can sometimes be elusive, the real meaning layered beneath another. In this volume American poets give voice to their nation, their hopes, and their aspirations. Whitman, Emerson, and Dickinson are joined by Poe, Holmes, Dunbar, and others to pleasure our ears and minds with a rambling stroll through their works. It doesn’t define America, but it captures her mood and the flavours of her soul in the early days of the American dream.

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on 27th June 1872 in Dayton, Ohio. His parents had been slaves in Kentucky before the Civil War. Dunbar wrote his first poem at age six and gave his first public recital at age nine. By 16, he was already published as a poet in The Herald, a local newspaper. After completing his formal schooling in 1891, Dunbar was employed as an elevator operator, at four dollars a week. His hopes of a legal career floundered on a lack of funds and racial discrimination. However, he wrote his poetry and took every opportunity to publish.

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives. Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today’s often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives.

Across fifty poems our classic poets including Christina Georgina Rossetti, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Thomas Hardy & Dante Gabriel Rossetti find verse and tender words to match the occasion. Their descriptions of nature’s ever-evolving landscape and humanity’s ever-changing lives emblazon the page with the lively ink that shapes us all.

The American literary tradition has, in a far shorter span of time than others throughout history, achieved a glowing and glittering reputation. From its transatlantic roots it has absorbed the sons and daughters of other cultures, other lands and made them part of her own. Within this melting pot of styles, genres and wordplay one fact stands out: In the American short story, literary tradition has a strong, vibrant and almost inclusive history, if you know where to look.