In His Own Voice: The Dramatic and Other Uncollected Works of Paul Laurence Dunbar - Softcover

Dunbar, Paul Laurence

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0821414224 ISBN 13: 9780821414224

Publisher: Ohio University Press, 2002

Synopsis

Paul Laurence Dunbar, introduced to the American public by William Dean Howells, was the first native-born African American poet to achieve national and international fame. While there have been many valuable editions of his works over time, gaps have developed when manuscripts were lost or access to uncollected works became difficult. In His Own Voice brings together previously upublished and uncollected short stories, essays, and poems. This volume also establishes Dunbar's reputation as a dramatist who mastered standard English conventions and used dialect in musical comedy for ironic effects. In His Own Voice collects more than seventy-five works in six genres. Featured are the previously unpublished play Herrick and two one-act plays, largely ignored for a century, that demonstrate Dunbar's subversion of the minstrel tradition. This generous expansion of the canon also includes a short story never before published. Herbert Woodward Martin, renowned for his live portrayal of Dunbar, and Ronald Primeau provide a literary and historical context for this previously untreated material, firmly securing the reputation of an important American voice.

About this title

Review

"Shows the breadth and depth of his talent and subtle genius for using dialect and other cultural signifiers to show the hypocrisy of white society and ... the creativity of African Americans."

Synopsis

Paul Laurence Dunbar, introduced to the American public by William Dean Howells, was the first native-born African American poet to achieve national and international fame. While there have been many valuable editions of his works over time, gaps have developed when manuscripts were lost or uncollected works became difficult to access. In His Own Voice brings together new and previously uncollected short stories, essays, and poems. Significantly, this volume also establishes Dunbar's reputation as a dramatist who mastered standard English conventions and used dialect in musical comedy for ironic effects. In His Own Voice collects more than a hundred works in six genres. Featured are the previously unpublished play Herrick and Dunbar's subversion of the minstrel tradition into one-acts that have been largely ignored for a century. This generous expension of the canon also includes a short story never before published. Professor Herbert Woodward Martin, renowned for his live portrayal of Dunbar, and Professor Ronald Primeau provide a literary and historical context to this previously untreated material, firmly cementing the reputation of an important American voice.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ohio University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0821414224
• ISBN 13: 9780821414224
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 296
• Editor: Martin Herbert Woodward, Primeau Ronald