The Life and Works of Paul Laurence Dunbar

by Lida Keck Wiggins

Book by Wiggins, Lida Keck

Genres: Classics, Poetry

298 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1907

Reviews

[J9 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me four years to read this, not because it was hard to read, but because I wanted to digest everything about it. Poetry, especially Dunbar, is a treat to be savored, not devoured.

I first found my favorite poet, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, back in high school. I was flipping through my new English book as we got ready for class and my eyes caught a poem called “We Wear the Mask”. At the time, I knew nothing of Dunbar. Didn’t know his story, who he was, whether he was dead or alive or the nationality of the guy. All I knew, was that this poem spoke to me. I could relate to the poem, I was this person in the poem and I began to immediately memorize the poem. I can still recite the entire thing to this day. Here’s the poem:

We Wear the Mask

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!


As a young, white teenager in 1991 in middle class America, I had no idea what I was reading, only the sentiment behind the words. In the years that followed I began to look into this Dunbar person and realized he was an African American man born in 1872 to two parents that had formerly been slaves. Obviously he was speaking about slavery and the time period he was in. He also lived in Ohio, which made me feel like we had something in common as well. But I knew we had more in common. This pain of hiding our true selves under great duress and trauma was only the beginning.

I can see an African American person reading my review and scoffing at the fact that this young white woman could possibly have anything in common with Dunbar. But I entreat to you, isn’t this what the written word is about? I had no idea of who he was or his background or what the poem was really about, yet, it touched me so deeply, that out of all the things I’ve read, at 50 years old I can still quote the poem verbatim?

How many times have you heard a song and it touched you in a way that no other song could, and then later you found out it was about something totally different than what you thought it was? Did it change your love for that song? I’m thinking in most cases, it probably didn’t. Writing is my favorite form of art, and how the individual reader perceives that art is not only subjective, but speaks to the talent of the writer, who can write something so profound that it speaks to people from all different walks of life.

Conscience and Remorse

“Good-bye,” I said to my conscience-
“Good-bye for aye and aye,”
And I put her hands off harshly,
And turned my face away;
And conscience smitten sorely
Returned not from that day.

But a time came when my spirit
Grew weary of its pace;
And I cried: “Come back, my conscience;
I long to see thy face.”
But conscience cried; “I cannot;
Remorse sits in my place.”

To this day, the poem “We Wear the Mask” can almost make me cry if I think about it too much. In fact, I’ve been thinking about getting another tattoo and am seriously thinking about a quote from that poem. I believe it's really about pain, and hiding that from others.

A few years ago I was driving through Cleveland, Ohio and saw a school called PLD High School, and I realized the sign stated it was Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School. I loved that a writer from the area made such a difference they named a school after him. I only hope they taught the kids about him in every single English class and they understood and appreciated the kind of brilliance that their school was named after.

An excerpt from “The Lesson”:

“But at his smile I smiled in turn,
And into my soul there came a ray;
In trying to soothe another’s woes
Mine own had passed away.”

I’ve had Dunbar’s complete works on my Amazon wish list for years before my eldest teen finally bought it for me on Christmas a few years ago. It took 4 years but I finally finished it. I’m glad it took me so long. It allowed me to really digest his work and his life and understand so much more about this man I admire. He has short stories, and poems, and a history about his life in this book. He was amazing. He wrote for the white people and the black people. He had dinners at his house with both. He brought the races together in a time when it was unheard of. They found common ground over current events and food. He was a genius before his time and I can only hope he will continue to be known throughout history and never forgotten.

I implore you to pick up some of his poetry. It doesn’t have to be his complete works. But his eloquence in describing life and love and grief and sorrow and laughter and hope is akin to no other author I have ever read. He is worth the time and effort to just read a few of his poems. I promise you it will be worth it. And I hope it will forever change you like it did me.

I leave you with an excerpt from Ione:

“In life, each heart holds some sad story-
The saddest ones are never told.
I, too, have dreamed of fame and glory,
And viewed the future bright with gold;
But that is a tale long told.
Mine eyes have lost their youthful flash,
My cunning hand has lost its art;
I am not old, but in my heart
The ember lies beneath the ash.”

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not frequently read poetry, but decided to read the poems of fellow Daytonian P L Dunbar. I really enjoyed them, though I don't have enough background in literature to compare his poetry with anything. His poetry tends to be metered and rhyming, and he was a master in this art, not only in proper English, but also in slave dialect and poor folk dialect which impressed me to no end. A lot of love poetry, focus on death and loss, and also descriptions of everyday rural life as the country moved from the 19th into the 20th Centuries. He did not have a happy love life or marriage and died young of tuberculosis at age 33. I don't know to what extent he wrote for an audience (for example wrote what sells) and to what extent he wrote what was on his heart.

[Keisha Adinkra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Paul L. Dunbar’s poetry and works! Must have for poetry lovers!

[Mark Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Burns, Dunbar wrote magnificently in both his native dialect and in the King's English. I've read less than half of this but am already bowled over at the talent, art and heart of this great poet from Ohio.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must have for any poetry lover.

[Brenda Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

My father read Mr. Dunbar's poetry to me as a child. Almost 50 years later it tell resonates in my soul.