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Graveside tribute to renowned African American poet from Dayton

By WHIO Staff

A cabinet card portrait of author Paul Laurence Dunbar as a young man in 1890. Dunbar was born in Dayton in 1872 to former slaves and was the first African American poet to receive critical acclaim for his work. He died in Dayton Feb. 9, 1906. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OHIO HISTORY CONNECTION

By WHIO Staff

DAYTON — Paul Laurence Dunbar was one the first African American poets to have their works known across the country.

Woodland Cemetery, the Dunbar Alumni Association and Dayton Dunbareans will hold their annual graveside tribute to Dunbar on the day of his death, Feb. 9, according to a release.

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born in Dayton in 1872. His short 33 years of life were filled with novels, short stories and poems.

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His work was celebrated for representing African American life in America during the turn of the century, according to the Poetry Foundation.

“Dunbar wrote with Dayton as his solid foundation and as his reference,” Laverne Sci, a Dunbar scholar said in a release. “It was in Dayton that he found his richest and greatest experiences and all the elements of beauty and joy that he enjoyed.”

In 1988 five people who appreciated Dunbar’s work found themselves in front of his grave on the day of his death and decided to create an annual graveside tribute, according to a release.

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The Annual Paul Laurence Dunbar Graveside Tribute will begin with a gathering at the gravesite of Dunbar at 10:00 a.m. at the Woodland Cemetery located at 118 Woodland Ave in Dayton.

A short program of readings and stories will then follow inside the Woodland Mausoleum.

The event is free and open to the public.









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