# Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet and writer. Dunbar gained national recognition for his book of poems, Lyrics of a Lowly Life (1896).

## Quotes

* An angel, robed in spotless white, Bent down and kissed the sleeping Night. Night woke to blush; the sprite was gone. Men saw the blush and called it Dawn.
** "Dawn" (1895)
* It is a little dark still, but there are warnings of the day and somewhere out of the darkness a bird is singing to the Dawn.
** Representative American Negroes, an essay from The Negro Problem, a collection of essays written in 1903 by leading African Americans.
* Because you love me I have much achieved, Had you despised me then I must have failed, But since I knew you trusted and believed, I could not disappoint you and so prevailed.
** Encouraged, in The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar (1913).
* You are sweet, O Love, dear Love, You are soft as the nesting dove. Come to my heart and bring it rest As the bird flies home to its welcome nest.
** Invitation to Love, in the 1913 collection of his work, The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar.
* I know what the caged bird feels, alas!   When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the wind blows soft through the springing grass, And the river floats 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!
** Sympathy, in the 1913 collection of his work, The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar; the poem inspired the title of Maya Angelou's book, Why the Caged Bird Sings.
* 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!
** We Wear The Mask, in the 1913 collection of his work, The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar.

## Quotes about Paul Laurence Dunbar

* I started writing when I was mute. I always thought I could write because I loved to read so much. I loved the melody of Poe and I loved Paul Laurence Dunbar. I had memorized so much of Dunbar, Poe, Shakespeare, James Weldon Johnson, Longfellow. When my son was able to be quiet enough to listen, I taught him those poets. A few years ago he gave a reading of his poetry and he started the reading by saying 'First, let me recite to you some of the poets my mother raised me on . . .'
** From a 1988 interview in Conversations with Maya Angelou (1989)
* I was always interested in fair play, probably from reading the works of Paul Dunbar, Langston Hughes, and Charles Dickens as a child. I was always concerned about justice and injustice. To the extent that I could understand the issues, I was always on the side of the underdog. I'm on the same side today.
** From a 1977 interview in Conversations with Maya Angelou (1989)
* the title I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is from [Paul Lawrence] Dunbar's "Sympathy."
** From a 1983 interview in Conversations with Maya Angelou (1989)

## External links

* Encyclopedic article on Paul Laurence Dunbar on Wikipedia
* Media related to Paul Laurence Dunbar on Wikimedia Commons
* Works related to Author:Paul Laurence Dunbar on Wikisource
* Works by Paul Laurence Dunbar at Project Gutenberg
* Dunbar's Legacy of Language, an NPR story marking the 100th anniversary of Dunbar's death; included is a poetry reading.