Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird

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On the 150th anniversary of his birth, a definitive new biography of a pivotal figure in American literary history

A major poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar (18721906) was one of the first African American writers to garner international recognition in the wake of emancipation. In this definitive biography, the first full-scale life of Dunbar in half a century, Gene Andrew Jarrett offers a revelatory account of a writer whose Gilded Age celebrity as the poet laureate of his race hid the private struggles of a man who, in the words of his famous poem, felt like a caged bird that sings.

Jarrett tells the fascinating story of how Dunbar, born during Reconstruction to formerly enslaved parents, excelled against all odds to become an accomplished and versatile artist. A prolific and successful poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and Broadway librettist, he was also a friend of such luminaries as Frederick Douglass and Orville and Wilbur Wright. But while audiences across the United States and Europe flocked to enjoy his literary readings, Dunbar privately bemoaned shouldering the burden of race and catering to minstrel stereotypes to earn fame and money. Inspired by his parents survival of slavery, but also agitated by a turbulent public marriage, beholden to influential benefactors, and helpless against his widely reported bouts of tuberculosis and alcoholism, he came to regard his racial notoriety as a curse as well as a blessing before dying at the age of only thirty-three.

Beautifully written, meticulously researched, and generously illustrated, this biography presents the richest, most detailed, and most nuanced portrait yet of Dunbar and his work, transforming how we understand the astonishing life and times of a central figure in American literary history.

Reviews

"One of ESSENCE'S 55 New Books We Can't Wait to Read"
"A New Yorker Best Book of the Year"
"A Book Riot Best Biography of the Year"
"A book that pulls you along like an open bag of potato chips; for the first 100 or so pages, I could barely put it down."---John McWhorter, New York Times
"Drawing on Dunbars sizable correspondence with friends, family, and benefactors, Jarrett illustrates his struggle to reconcile his professional success with a sense of himself as a failurean errant husband, an alcoholic, and, above all, a Black artist who couldnt liberate his community from racial stereotypes." * The New Yorker *
"A raw, unadulterated portrait of the writers short yet full life. . . . It offers immense detail and newly discovered information."---Vesper North, Los Angeles Review of Books
"A meticulously crafted biography. . . . [A] thorough and eminently readable account of Black genius."---Omari Weekes, Vulture
"Fascinating and beautifully written. . . . Its an intimate portrait of a complex and complicated literary figure who deserves more recognition."---Keisha N. Blain, Politico
"A pioneering Black poet battles racism and his inner demons in this incisive biography. . . . Jarrett situates his analysis of Dunbars ambitious, sometimes prickly intellect innan insightful, vividly written portrait of Black political and literary culture at the turn of the 20th century, and probes his subjects alcoholism, gambling, and violent tendencies. The result is a fascinating exploration of Black creativity wrestling with social constraints and personal failings." * Publishers Weekly *
"A detailed, empathetic biography. . . . Jarrett offers astute readings of all of Dunbars works. . . . Impressive research." * Kirkus Reviews starred review *
"This is one of those classic biographies that I think readers will just love diving into. Rich in detail and nuance, it drops readers into Dunbars life and times, offering a fascinating look at both the literary and personal life of this great American poet." * Book Riot *
"This new biography does a thorough and compelling job in telling the story of a remarkable and partially tragic life."---David Mehegan, Arts Fuse
"We are indebted to Jarrett for elevating Dunbars voice back to the place of prominence it should hold in literary history." * The American *

Author Bio

Gene Andrew Jarrett is Dean of the Faculty and William S. Tod Professor of English at Princeton University. He is the author of Representing the Race: A New Political History of African American Literature and Deans and Truants: Race and Realism in African American Literature. He is also the coeditor of The Collected Novels of Paul Laurence Dunbar and The Complete Stories of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Website geneandrewjarrett.com Twitter @GeneJarrett