Dialect poems by one of the nineteenth century's most talented African American lyricists

Paul Laurence Dunbar was "the most promising young colored man" in nineteenth-century America, according to Frederick Douglass, and subsequently one of the most controversial. His plantation lyrics, written while he was an elevator boy in Ohio, established Dunbar as the premier writer of dialect poetry and garnered him international recognition. More than a vernacular lyricist, Dunbar was also a master of classical poetic forms, who helped demonstrate to post-Civil War America that literary...

Paul Laurence Dunbar, introduced to the American public by William Dean Howells, was the first native-born African American poet to achieve national and international fame. While there have been many valuable editions of his works over time, gaps have developed when manuscripts were lost or uncollected works became difficult to access. In His Own Voice brings together new and previously uncollected short stories, essays, and poems. Significantly, this volume also establishes Dunbar's reputation as a dramatist who mastered standard English conventions and used dialect in musical comedy for...

Selected poems from a respected African American poet

Visit our Events page for details about the Kent screening of the new film Jump Back, Honey: The Poetry and Performance of Herbert Woodward Martin.

Herbert Woodward Martin's body of poetry from the past five decades is, in many ways, matched by no one else. His many poetic voices range from quiet lyrics to angry protest poems, from groundbreaking counterpoint structures to prize-winning historical narratives. His wide-ranging poetry acts as a barometer of various times and tempers in American literature....

At long last, critics, scholars, and lovers of fiction can experience the full range and imaginative powers of the collected novels of Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 1906). In these four novels, readers can explore the characters, landscape, atmosphere, and visionary sensibilities of this preeminent African American writer.
In the prime of his literary career, between 1898 and 1902, Dunbar published "The Uncalled, " "The Love of Landry," "The Fanatics," and "The Sport of the Gods." Despite widespread critical interest, the novels have been largely subordinated to his short stories and poetry....

At long last, critics, scholars, and lovers of fiction can experience the full range and imaginative powers of the collected novels of Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 1906). In these four novels, readers can explore the characters, landscape, atmosphere, and visionary sensibilities of this preeminent African American writer.
In the prime of his literary career, between 1898 and 1902, Dunbar published "The Uncalled, " "The Love of Landry," "The Fanatics," and "The Sport of the Gods." Despite widespread critical interest, the novels have been largely subordinated to his short stories and poetry....