Paul Laurence Dunbar
An item at American Writers Museum
The son of former slaves, Paul Laurence Dunbar grew up in Dayton, Ohio. He began writing poetry in his teens. His first collection, Oak and Ivy (1893), attracted local attention, and his second, Majors and Minors (1896), won him national acclaim. In his short life, Dunbar authored twelve poetry collections, four short-story collections, four novels, essays, music lyrics, and a play.
Dunbar's work painfully articulated what W. E. B. Du Bois called the "twoness" of being black: torn between American-ness and African-ness. He wrote in two styles-standard English and African-American dialect-and condemned being forced to "wear the mask that grins and lies."
AMERICAN VOICES
An exhibit at American Writers Museum
American writing is distinctive, diverse, and comes in many forms from across the nation. The 100 authors featured here represent the evolution of American writing. Learn more about each writer on the timeline by turning the panels below their portraits. Explore centuries of writing by pulling, turning, and touching the interactive elements on the counter.
This is not meant to be a list of the greatest or most influential writers. Instead, we present authors and works as part of the American story as it grows and changes. Taken together, this rich literary heritage reflects America in all of its complexity: its energy, hope, conflict, disillusionment, and creativity.