Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar (b 27 June 1872, Dayton, OH | d 9 Feb. 1906, Dayton, OH), son of Joshua Dunbar and Matilda Burton Murphy. Showing an early aptitude for writing, he was editor of his high school’s student newspaper and submitted poetry to the Dayton Herald and the West Side News. While intially working as an elevator operator, he joined the Western Association of Writers (1892) and soon after published his first collection, Oak and Ivy (1893). With his increasing popularity, he was hired as a library assistant in the Library of Congress (1897), and the following year published his first novel, The Uncalled (1898). He thereafter devoted himself full time to his literary pursuits, becoming a prolific writer. His career was cut short by tuberculosis.

—Chris Fenner, Hymns & Devotions for Daily Worship: African American Edition (2025)