Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow (1905), by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 - February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and playwright 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 to write stories and verse when still a child and was president of his high school's literary society. He published his first poems at the age of 16 in a Dayton newspaper. Much of Dunbar's more popular work in his lifetime was written in the Negro dialect associated with the antebellum South, though he wrote in several dialects, including German and the Midwestern regional dialect of James Whitcomb Riley.[1] Dunbar's work was praised by William Dean Howells, a leading editor associated with the Harper's Weekly, and Dunbar was one of the first African-American writers to establish an international reputation. He wrote the lyrics for the musical comedy, In Dahomey (1903), the first all-African-American musical produced on Broadway; the musical also toured in the United States and the United Kingdom. Dunbar also wrote in conventional English in other poetry and novels; since the late 20th century, scholars have become more interested in these other works. Suffering from tuberculosis, Dunbar died at the age of 33. Paul Laurence Dunbar was born at 311 Howard Street in Dayton, Ohio, on June 27, 1872, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil War. After being emancipated, his mother Matilda had moved to Dayton with other family members, including her two sons Robert and William from her first marriage. Dunbar's father Joshua had escaped from slavery in Kentucky before the war ended. He traveled to Massachusetts and volunteered for the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first two black units to serve in the war. The senior Dunbar also served in the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment. Paul Dunbar was born six months after Joshua and Matilda married on Christmas Eve, 1871. The marriage of Dunbar's parents was troubled and Dunbar's mother, Matilda, left soon after a second child, a daughter, was born with Joshua Joshua Dunbar died on August 16, 1885; Paul was 12 years old. Dunbar wrote his first poem at the age of six and gave his first public recital at the age of nine. His mother Matilda assisted him in his schooling, having learned to read expressly for that purpose. She often read the Bible with him, and thought he might become a minister for the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It was the first independent black denomination, founded in Philadelphia in the early 19th century. Dunbar was the only African-American student during his years at Central High School in Dayton; Orville Wright was a classmate Well-accepted, he was elected as president of the school's literary society, and became the editor of the school newspaper and a member of the debate club.