Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)


A selective bibliography of open access internet articles on Paul Laurence Dunbar, favoring signed articles by recognized scholars, articles published in reviewed sources, and web sites that adhere to the MLA Guidelines for Authors of Web Sites


main page | African American writers | authors, alphabetical | Harlem Renaissance


Literary criticism and analysis

Braxton, Joanne M. (ed. and intro) Publisher's blurb for The Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar (Univ. Press of Virginia)

Howells, William Dean. William Dean Howells' Introduction to Lyrics of Lowly Life (1896)

Jarrett, Gene. "'We Must Write Like the White Men': Race, Realism, and Dunbar's Anomalous First Novel" In Novel: A Forum on Fiction, Summer 2004

Lewis, David Levering. Commentary on Paul Laurence Dunbar, from The American Experience on PBS

Martin, Herbert Woodward and Ronald Primeau (eds.) In His Own Voice: The Dramatic and Other Uncollected Works of Paul Laurence Dunbar (Ohio Univ. Press, 2002) A review in African American Review, Summer-Fall, 2003 by Dickson D. Bruce, Jr.

Morgan, Thomas L. "The city as refuge: constructing urban blackness in Paul Laurence Dunbar's The Sport of the Gods and James Weldon Johnson's The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man" African American Review, Summer, 2004

Washington, Margaret. "Paul Lawrence Dunbar-The People's Poet." Article on Paul Dunbar from the American Experience on PBS


Introductory, light reading, unsigned material

The Modern American Poetry page reprints excerpts of reliable criticism and has the following sections on Paul Laurence Dunbar: Dunbar's Life and Career | Sterling Brown on Dunbar (1937) | On "Sympathy" | On "When Malindy Sings" | On "The Haunted Oak" | On "We Wear the Mask" | Examples of Dunbar's Illustrated Poems | W. D. Howell's Introduction to Lyrics of Lowly Life (1898) | Dunbar Book Covers | Additional Poems by Dunbar. From Cary Nelson and the Univ. of Illinois

An extended, introductory article on Paul Dunbar's career, includes list of his works and a secondary reading list, from the Poetry Foundation

A Paul Laurence Dunbar web site contains a biography, poems, and more. From the Univ. of Dayton

A brief introduction to Paul Dunbar from the American Academy of Poets

Program for the Paul Laurence Dunbar Centennial Celebration at Stanford Univ., March 10-11, 2006

"Celebrate Dunbar," a newsletter about events related to Paul Laurence Dunbar created by a collaboration of organizations

Brief discussion of Paul Laurence Dunbar as part of the Black Collegian's list of great African-Americans

Alice Moore Dunbar [Nelson] and Paul Laurence Dunbar Residence (photo and description) 1934 Fourth Street, NW, Washington D.C. From the African American Heritage Trail

Tourist web site for the Paul Laurence Dunbar's final home, in Ohio


Teaching resources

Guide for teaching Paul Laurence Dunbar, contributing editors Elaine Hedges and Richard Yarborough, from the Heath Anthology

"Harlem Connections: Teaching Walter Dean Myers's Scorpions in Conjunction with Paul Laurence Dunbar's The Sport of the Gods," by Mark I. West. Published in the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English Review

"A Middle School Approach to Black Literature: An Introduction to Dunbar, Johnson, Hughes, and Angelou," by Ivory Erkerd. Published by Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute

An introduction to Langston Hughes’ work that begins with Paul Dunbar Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute

Suggestions for teachers in presenting Paul Laurence Dunbar to middle and high school students


Exhibits, bibliographies

An online exhibition from the Univ. of Delaware presents an autograph letter from Dunbar, the first letter to his future wife, Alice Ruth Moore, on May 23, 1895, in which he discusses literary issues

The Writings of Paul Laurence Dunbar An exhibit of rare and first edition books, at the Springfield (Mass.) Library site.

A primary and secondary bibliography and discussion questions for Paul Laurence Dunbar, from Perspectives in American Literature by Dr. Paul Reuben

A thorough list of web resources for African American writers and literature

Digital versions of many of Paul Laurence Dunbar's works are available from the Paul Laurence Dunbar Digital Collection at Wright State Univ.


main page | African American writers | authors, alphabetical | Harlem Renaissance


1998-2008 by Donna Jan Pridmore