Paul Laurence Dunbar

1872–1906

Born on June 27, 1872 to freed slaves from Kentucky, Dunbar became one of the first influential Black poets in American literature, and was internationally acclaimed for his dialectic verse in collections such as  Majors and Minors  (1895) and  Lyrics of Lowly Life  (1896)  More recently Dunbar’s stature has increased markedly and he is regarded as America’s first great Black poet.


haggadah Section: Introduction