American poetry of the first half of 20th century. The specificity of Paul Laurence Dunbar poetry. Content introduction chapter I the Poets Paul Laurence Dunbar

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Dunbar became the first African American poet to receive national recognition and recognition. The New York Times called him "a true folk singer - white or black." Frederick Douglas once called Dunbar "one of the sweetest singers his race ever produced, and [the man he hoped for]". things."
His friend and writer James Weldon Johnson praised Dunbar in his book of American Negro Poetry:
Paul Lawrence Dunbar stands out from the Negro race in the United States as the first poet to demonstrate a combined mastery of poetic material and poetic technique, revealing an innate literary distinction in his writings and maintaining a high level of performance. He was the first to climb to a height that gave his race a promising look. He was the first to objectively see his humor, his superstitions, his shortcomings; he is the first to sympathize with the wounds of his heart, his aspirations, his aspirations, and expresses them all in a purely literary form.
This collection was published in 1931 after the Harlem Renaissance, which led to the proliferation of African American literary and artistic works. They explored new topics, shared ideas about city life and migration to the North. Johnson also criticized Dunbar for his polite writing, saying that they supported ridiculous or sad stereotypes of blacks, and tightened restrictions on blacks writing only about scenes from antebellum plantation life in the South.
Dunbar continued to influence other writers, lyricists and composers. Composer William Grant still used excerpts from Dunbar's four dialect poems as epigraphs for four movements of his first symphony, The African American (1930). The following year saw the premiere of the first African-American symphony performed by a large orchestra for an American audience. Dunbar's song in the vaudeville "Who Dat Chicken in Dis Crowd?" According to Dunbar scholar Halis Robbins, “Who is this? Who is it? Who said they would defeat the Saints?”
Maya Angelo titled her autobiography Why I Sing in a Cage (1969), a line from Dunbar's poem "Sympathy" at the suggestion of jazz musician and activist Abby Lincoln. According to Angelo, Dunbar's work inspired his "passion for writing". In most of his works he returns to the symbol of the caged bird as a chained slave.
The Dunbar House in Dayton, Ohio is a state historic site listed in the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park, which is managed by the National Park Service. Paul Lawrence is preserved as the Dunbar House.
His residence at LeDroyt Park in Washington, D.C. still stands.
Many of Dunbar's papers are held at Wright State University's Dunbar Library.
In 2002, Molefi Kete Asante included Paul Laurence Dunbar on his list of the 100 Greatest African Americans.
Dunbar is honored by many schools and other places, including Dunbar Magnetic School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Alabama, Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School in Lexington, Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School in Dayton, Ohio, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School, named after schools. School in Baltimore, Maryland, the Paul Laurence Dunbar Vocational School in Chicago, Illinois, and others. The Wright State University Library in Dayton and the branch library in Dallas are also named after Dunbar.