Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar, the son of two former slaves, absorbed his mother’s wisdom and stories told by his father. As one of the last of a generation to interact with actual slaves, he was able to use his father’s story telling spirit and mother’s wisdom to depict the life experiences of African Americans.

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872 to Joshua Dunbar and Matilda Murphy Dunbar in Dayton, Ohio. He was taught to read wisdom. He also took in the stories told by his father, Joshua Dunbar, who escaped from enslavement in Kentucky and served in the Massachusetts 55th Regiment during the Civil War. Paul Laurence Dunbar was never enslaved, he was one of the last of a generation to have ongoing contact with those had been. Dunbar was steeped in the oral tradition during his formative years and he would go on to become a powerful interpreter of the African American folk experience in literature and song. The only African American in his Dayton, Ohio Central High School class, young Paul already showed literacy talent. He was named class poet, president of the literacy society, and editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. Although he couldn’t afford to co

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Approximate Word count = 1878
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)