1. Does the Hero Wear the Mask
Whether it be a poet, literary writer, or a novelist, each and every writer has their.
own personal, unique style and voice. Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote both poems and short.
stories, as well as essays. In his writing, it was evident that Dunbar had a tendency to use.
dialect. Much of his writing also used a Standard English voice. Throughout his writing,.
Dunbar created a unique style that combined both Standard English and dialect,.
something which very few other writers of his time did. However, in all of his published.
works, the more famous pieces were generally those which used stronger dialect. .
According to The Paul Laurence Dunbar Reader, "[Dunbar] was part of a movement in.
literature that stressed dialect conversation" (262). Further explanation of this was stated.
when Dunbar later on in life said that after some time he finally realized that his natural.
speech is dialect (Reader, 262).
Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio. His parents,.
Joshua and Matilda Dunbar, were two former slaves who escaped from slavery in.
Kentucky. Shortly after his birth, Dunbar's parents divorced, but he still held them close.
to his heart and used their stories in much of his later writing. The stories that his parents.
shared with him about their slavery experiences gave Dunbar insight into the life of a.
slave, and provided him with wisdom and intelligence that he used to his advantage in.
writing.
By his early teenage years, Dunbar had already experienced being published, as.
he had a few poems printed in the Dayton Herald. His first professional public speaking.
occurrence was in 1884, when he read his first original poem to the Eaker Street A.M.E.
Church. This poem was named "Easter Hymn". Continuing to be published over a period.
of many years, Dunbar contributed to several poetry books, most of which were those of.
other poets. He was also the head editor of a few papers, including his high school paper,.