The Scribe - Page 9

Paul Laurence Dunbar: Pioneer of African American Poetry HISTORY Origins and Early Years Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1872 to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky. Despite facing racial barriers that prevented him from pursuing higher education or finding work commensurate with his abilities, Dunbar became one of the first African American poets to gain national recognition. Literary Career and Style Dunbar’s work encompassed both dialect poetry and classical verse. His dialect poems, written in African American vernacular, brought him initial fame but also became a source of personal conflict. While these works made his poetry accessible and popular with white audiences, Dunbar felt they overshadowed his more serious compositions in standard English. His classical poetry addressed themes of aspiration, struggle, and the human condition with technical precision. Major Works and Recognition His first major collection, “Lyrics of Lowly Life” (1896), received an introduction from novelist William Dean Howells and established Dunbar’s literary reputation. The volume contained his most famous poem, “We Wear the Mask,” which explored the psychological burden of concealing one’s true feelings in a hostile society. Dunbar published multiple poetry collections, novels, and short stories during his brief career. Legacy and Historical Context Dunbar’s success opened doors for future African American writers, though he paid a personal price for his pioneering role. He struggled with the expectations placed upon him to write in dialect and faced the limitations of what white publishers and audiences would accept from a Black writer. His death from tuberculosis in 1906 at age 33 cut short a remarkable career. Today, his childhood home in Dayton operates as a historic site managed by the National Park Service. Photo by RSapirstein, CC BY-SA 4.0 We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— This debt we pay to human guile; With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, And mouth with myriad subtleties. Why should the world be over-wise, In counting all our tears and sighs? Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask. We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries To thee from tortured souls arise. We sing, but oh the clay is vile Beneath our feet, and long the mile; But let the world dream otherwise, We wear the mask! I know what the caged bird feels, alas! When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, And the river flows like a stream of glass; When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, And the faint perfume from its chalice steals— I know what the caged bird feels! I know why the caged bird beats his wing Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; For he must fly back to his perch and cling When he fain would be on the bough a-swing; And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars And they pulse again with a keener sting— I know why he beats his wing! I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,— When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings— I know why the caged bird sings! “We Wear the Mask” “Sympathy” Be proud, my race, in mind and soul; Thy name is writ on Glory’s scroll In characters of fire. High ‘mid the clouds of Fame’s bright sky Thy banner’s blazoned folds now fly, And truth shall lift them higher They please me not--these solemn songs That hint of sermons covered up. ‘T is true the world should heed its wrongs, But in a poem let me sup, Not simples brewed to cure or ease Humanity’s confessed disease, But the spirit-wine of a singing line, Or a dew-drop in a honey cup! A little bird, with plumage brown, Beside my window flutters down, A moment chirps its little strain, Ten taps upon my window-pane, And chirps again, and hops along, To call my notice to its song; But I work on, nor heed its lay, Till, in neglect, it flies away. So birds of peace and hope and love Come fluttering earthward from above, To settle on life’s window-sills, And ease our load of earthly ills; But we, in traffic’s rush and din Too deep engaged to let them in, With deadened heart and sense plod on, Nor know our loss till they are gone. “Ode to Ethiopia” “A Choice” “The Sparrow”