Paul Laurence Dunbar was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil War, Dunbar began writing stories and verse when he was a child. He published his first poems at the age of 16 in a Dayton newspaper, and served as president of his high school's literary society.
Dunbar's popularity increased rapidly after his work was praised by William Dean Howells, a leading editor associated with Harper's Weekly. Dunbar became one of the first African-American writers to establish an international reputation. In addition to his poems, short stories, and novels, he also wrote the lyrics for the musical comedy In Dahomey (1903), the first all-African-American musical produced on Broadway in New York. The musical later toured in the United States and the United Kingdom. Suffering from tuberculosis, which then had no cure, Dunbar died in Dayton, Ohio, at the age of 33.
Much of Dunbar's more popular work in his lifetime was written in the "Negro dialect" associated with the antebellum South, though he also used the Midwestern regional dialect of James Whitcomb Riley. Dunbar also wrote in conventional English in other poetry and novels and is considered the first important African American sonnet writer. Since the late 20th century, scholars have become more interested in these other works.
Contents:
COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS
INTRODUCTION TO LYRICS OF LOWLY LIFE
 LYRICS OF LOWLY LIFE
 NATURE AND ART
 LYRICS OF THE HEARTHSIDE
 THE CONQUERORS
 HUMOUR AND DIALECT
 LYRICS OF LOVE AND LAUGHTER
 LYRICS OF LOVE AND SORROW
 LYRICS OF SUNSHINE AND SHADOW
 MISCELLANEOUS
 THE NOVELS
 THE UNCALLED
 THE LOVE OF LANDRY
 THE FANATICS
 THE SPORT OF THE GODS
 THE SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
 FOLKS FROM DIXIE
 THE HEART OF HAPPY HOLLOW
 THE STRENGTH OF GIDEON AND OTHER STORIES
 IN OLD PLANTATION DAYS
 UNCOLLECTED SHORT STORIES
 THE NON-FICTION
 REPRESENTATIVE AMERICAN NEGROES

Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 - February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil War, Dunbar began writing stories and verse when he was a child. He published his first poems at the age of 16 in a Dayton newspaper, and served as president of his high school's literary society.