The Grave of Paul Laurence Dunbar

Posted on 2024-05-27 by Bartholomew Barker

On the way home from the total solar eclipse last month, I stopped off in Dayton, Ohio to visit the grave of one of my favorite poets, Paul Laurence Dunbar in Woodland Cemetery.

I’ve heard of Mr. Dunbar for as long as I can remember since I grew up less than an hour’s drive away and there’s a high school named after him in Dayton but I didn’t read or appreciate his poetry until I became a poet myself. He did some excellent work on most every subject so that when I do my monthly visits to read poetry with old folks, I almost always find myself reading one from Paul Laurence Dunbar.

For instance, We Wear the Mask, which I stole from when I wrote a Fraiku for him a few months ago. Or Sympathy, which is where Maya Angelou stole the title of her autobiography from. Or Spring Song or A Summer’s Night.

The lines quoted on his gravestone are from Death Song so they’re appropriate but, I must admit, I steer away from his dialect poems. In the late 19th, early 20th centuries, poets often wrote in their regional dialect, like James Whitcomb Riley from nearby Indiana. Unfortunately, these days I feel like I’m wearing poetic black-face if I read any Dunbar’s dialect poems aloud.

By the way, his grave is less than 50 meters from the grave of the Wright Brothers. They all attended the same small high school and Dunbar was in the same class as Orville.

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About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is an organizer of Living Poetry, a collection of poets in the Triangle region of North Carolina where he has hosted a monthly feedback workshop for more than decade. His first poetry collection, Wednesday Night Regular, written in and about strip clubs, was published in 2013. His second, Milkshakes and Chilidogs, a chapbook of food inspired poetry was served in 2017. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he lives and writes poetry.
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12 Responses to The Grave of Paul Laurence Dunbar

  1. Michele Lee's avatar Michele Lee says:
    2024-05-27 at 20:39

    An interesting detour, Bart. Thanks for the links to explore further.

    Liked by 2 people

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  2. Melissa Lemay's avatar Melissa Lemay says:
    2024-05-27 at 23:00

    I enjoy his poetry as well!

    Liked by 1 person

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  3. Priti's avatar Priti says:
    2024-05-30 at 13:17

    Beautiful poetry and good photos of grave 👏 well shared

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. Susi Bocks's avatar Susi Bocks says:
    2024-06-12 at 14:30

    Interesting! Thanks for the education, Bart! :)

    Liked by 1 person

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