The Complete Stories of Paul Laurence Dunbar - Softcover

Dunbar, Paul Laurence

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0821418831 ISBN 13: 9780821418833

Publisher: Ohio University Press, 2009

Synopsis

An ALA “Best of the Best” Book

The son of former slaves, Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the most prominent figures in American literature at the turn of the twentieth century. Thirty-three years old at the time of his death in 1906, he had published four novels, four collections of short stories, and fourteen books of poetry, as well as numerous songs, plays, and essays in newspapers and magazines around the world.

In the century following his death, Dunbar slipped into relative obscurity, remembered mainly for his dialect poetry or as a footnote to other more canonical figures of the period. The Complete Stories of Paul Laurence Dunbar showcases his gifts as a writer of short fiction and provides key insights into the tensions and themes of Dunbar's literary achievement. The 104 stories written by Dunbar between 1890 and 1905 reveal Dunbar's attempts to maintain his artistic integrity while struggling with America's racist stereotypes. Making them available for the first time in one convenient, comprehensive, and definitive volume, The Complete Stories of Paul Laurence Dunbar illustrates the complexity of his literary life and legacy.

About this title

About the Author:

Thomas Lewis Morgan is an assistant professor of English at the University of Dayton. His research and teaching interests focus on critical race theory in late-nineteenth-century American and African American literature, specifically as it applies to the politics of narrative form.

Gene Andrew Jarrett is an associate professor of English and African American Studies at Boston University. He is the author of Deans and Truants: Race and Realism in African American Literature and editor or coeditor of The New Negro: Readings on Race, Representation, and African American Culture, 1892–1938; African American Literature beyond Race: An Alternative Reader, and The Complete Stories of Paul Laurence Dunbar.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* One hundred years after the death of Dunbar, he is most remembered for his poem "We Wear the Mask," evoking the balance required of blacks to survive and prosper in nineteenth-century America. This collection of 103 of Dunbar's short stories written between 1890 and 1905, including well-known pieces and many that have gone out of print, allows readers to see how the first African American writer to enjoy huge success evolved as a writer. The son of former slaves, Dunbar balanced the desire for a commercially successful career as a writer and the desire to tackle racial stereotypes. The first story he sold was a western tale with all white characters, part of his attempts to write outside of race issues. This collection also includes powerful stories of lynching, politics, religion, and social and interracial relationships--the broad spectrum of black life in America. In the introduction, the editors place Dunbar in the context of other contemporary writers, including Mark Twain and Charles Chestnutt, writers of sharp social commentary and possessing an adroit eye for human foibles. This is a valuable collection for readers interested in Dunbar and his place in African American and American literature. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Ohio University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0821418831
• ISBN 13: 9780821418833
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 560
• Editor: Jarrett Gene Andrew, Morgan Thomas Lewis