Dialect poems by one of the nineteenth century's most talented African American lyricists

Paul Laurence Dunbar was “the most promising young colored man” in nineteenth-century America, according to Frederick Douglass, and subsequently one of the most controversial. His plantation lyrics, written while he was an elevator boy in Ohio, established Dunbar as the premier writer of dialect poetry and garnered him international recognition. More than a vernacular lyricist, Dunbar was also a master of classical poetic forms, who helped demonstrate to post–Civil War America that literary genius did not reside solely in artists of European descent. William Dean Howells called Dunbar’s dialect poems “evidence of the essential unity of the human race, which does not think or feel black in one and white in another, but humanly in all.”

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Selected PoemsIntroduction
Bibliography
Suggestions for Further Reading
From Oak and Ivy (1893)
A Banjo Song
A Career
Columbian Ode
James Whitcomb Riley
Life
Lullaby
Melancholia
My Sort o' Man
Ode to Ethiopia
Sympathy
The Ol' Tunes
The Seedling

From Majors and Minors (1895)
After the Quarrel
Alice
Ballad
By the Stream
The Change Has Come
Changing Time
The Colored Soldiers
A Corn-Song
Dawn
Dirge
Disappointed
Ere Sleep Comes Down to Soother the Weary Eyes
Frederick Douglass
A Frolic
He Had His Dream
Hymn
Invitation to Love
Ione
The Master-Player
Ode for Memorial Day
One Life
The Poet and His Song
A Prayer
Retort
Ships that Pass in the Night
A Summer's Night
We Wear the Mask
To Pfrimmer

From Lyrics of Lowly Life (1896)
Accountability
An Ante-Bellum Sermon
The Corn-Stalk Fiddle
The Lawyers' Ways
Religion
After a Visit
The Spellin'-Bee
Keep A-Pluggin' away
An Easy-Goin' Feller
The Wooing
When de Co'n Pone's Hot
Discovered
The Delinquent
A Confidence
The Party

From Poems of Cabin and Field (1899)
The Deserted Plantation
Little Brown Baby
Christmas Is A-Comin'

From Lyrics of the Hearthside (1899)
Love's Apotheosis
The Paradox
The Right to Die
Behind the Arras
A Hymn
Dream Song I
Dream Song II
The King Is Dead
Theology
Resignation
Thou Art My Lute
The Phantom Kiss
The Crisis
Alexander Crummell Dead
Sonnet
Misapprehension
For the Man Who Fails
Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Warrior's Prayer
The Voice of the Banjo
A Choice
The Real Question
Jilted
Chrismus on the Plantation
Foolin' wid de Seasons
A Death Song
Jealous
Parted
A Letter
At Candle-Lightin' Time
How Lucy Backslid
Protest

From When Malindy Sings (1903)
When Malindy Sings
The Colored Band
In Memory of Martha
The Tryst
The Boogah Man
Noddin' by de Fire
My Sweet Brown Gal
In the Morning
The Plantation Child's Lullaby
Curiosity
Opportunity
Puttin' the Baby Away
Faith
The Fisher Child's Lullaby

From Lyrics of Love and Laughter (1903)
Joggin' Erlong
In May
Dreams
The Dove
The Valse
Song
Inspiration
When Dey 'Listed Colored Soldiers
Lincoln
To a Captious Critic
The Poet
A Spiritual
W'en I Gits Home
The Unsung Heroes
The Pool
Speakin' at de Cou't House
Black Samson of Brandywine
Douglass
Booker T. Washington
Philosophy
The Debt
By Rugged Ways
To the South
The Haunted Oak
Weltschmertz
Robert Gould Shaw
A Love Song
A Negro Love Song
The Fount of Tears
At the Tavern

From Li'l' Gal (1904)
Li'l' Gal
A Plea
Soliloquy of a Turkey
When Sam'l Sings

From Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow (1905)
A Boy's Summer Song
The Sand-Man
Johnny Speaks
Scamp
A Christmas Folksong
The Farm Child's Lullaby
Hope
The Awakening
A Musical
Twell de Night Is Pas'
Compensation
Anchored
Yesterday and To-morrow
At Sunset Time
At Loafing-Holt
When a Feller's Itchin' to Be Spanked
A Love Letter
Trouble in de Kitchen
The Quilting
Forever
Parted
Christmas

From Howdy, Howdy, Howdy (1905)
"Howdy, Howdy, Howdy!"
Encouragement
Twilight

From Joggin' Erlong (1906)
The Capture

Uncollected Poems
Emancipation
Welcome Address
Comrade
Love Is a Star
The Making Up
A Toast to Dayton
Sold a C.H.S. Episode
After the Struggle
The Builder
Lullaby (II)

Index of Titles
Index of First Lines

Table of Contents

 

PENGUINCLASSICS SELECTED POEMS

Title Page

Copyright Page

Introduction

 

FROM OAK AND IVY 1893

A Banjo Song

A Career

Columbian Ode

Life

Lullaby

Melancholia

My Sort o’ Man

Ode to Ethiopia

Sympathy

The Ol’ Tunes

The Seedling

 

FROM MAJORS AND MINORS 1895

After the Quarrel

Alice

Ballad

By the Stream

The Change Has Come

Changing Time

The Colored Soldiers

A Corn-Song

Dawn

Dirge

Disappointed

Ere Sleep Comes Down to Soothe the Weary Eyes

Frederick Douglass

A Frolic

He Had His Dream

Hymn

Invitation to Love

Ione

The Master-Player

Ode for Memorial Day

One Life

The Poet and His Song

A Prayer

Retort

Ships That Pass in the Night

A Summer’s Night

We Wear the Mask

To Pfrimmer

 

FROM LYRICS OF LOWLY LIFE 1896

Accountability

An Ante-Bellum Sermon

The Corn-Stalk Fiddle

The Lawyers’ Ways

Religion

After a Visit

The Spellin’-Bee

Keep A-Pluggin’ Away

An Easy-Goin’ Feller

The Wooing

When de Co’n Pone’s Hot

Discovered

The Delinquent

A Confidence

The Party

 

FROM POEMS OF CABIN AND FIELD 1899

The Deserted Plantation

Little Brown Baby

Chrismus Is A-Comin’

 

FROM LYRICS OF THE HEARTHSIDE 1899

Love’s Apotheosis

The Paradox

The Right to Die

Behind the Arras

A Hymn - After Reading Lead, Kindly Light.

Dream Song I

Dream Song II

The King Is Dead

Theology

Resignation

Thou Art My Lute

The Phantom Kiss

The Crisis

Alexander Crummell Dead

Sonnet On an Old Book with Uncut Leaves

Misapprehension

For the Man Who Fails

Harriet Beecher Stowe

The Warrior’s Prayer

The Voice of the Banjo

A Choice

The Real Question

Jilted

Chrismus on the Plantation

Foolin’ wid de Seasons

A Death Song

Jealous

Parted

A Letter

At Candle-Lightin’ Time

How Lucy Backslid

Protest

 

FROM WHEN MALINDY SINGS 1903

When Malindy Sings

The Colored Band

The Memory of Martha

The Tryst

The Boogah Man

Noddin’ by de Fire

My Sweet Brown Gal

In the Morning

The Plantation Child’s Lullaby

Curiosity

Opportunity

Puttin’ the Baby Away

Faith

The Fisher Child’s Lullaby

 

FROM LYRICS OF LOVE AND LAUGHTER 1903

Joggin’ Erlong

In May

Dreams

The Dove

The Valse

Song

Inspiration

When Dey ‘Listed Colored Soldiers

Lincoln

To a Captious Critic

The Poet

A Spiritual

W’en I Gits Home

The Unsung Heroes

The Pool

Speakin’ at de Cou’t House

Black Samson of Brandywine

Douglass

Booker T. Washington

Philosophy

The Debt

By Rugged Ways

To the South On Its New Slavery

The Haunted Oak

Weltschmertz

Robert Gould Shaw

A Love Song

A Negro Love Song

The Fount of Tears

At the Tavern

 

FROM LI’L’ GAL 1904

Li’l’ Gal

A Plea

Soliloquy of a Turkey

When Sam’l Sings

 

FROM LYRICS OF SUNSHINE AND SHADOW 1905

A Boy’s Summer Song

The Sand-Man

Johnny Speaks

Scamp

A Christmas Folksong

The Farm Child’s Lullaby

Hope

The Awakening

A Musical

Twell de Night Is Pas’

Compensation

Anchored

Yesterday and To-morrow

At Sunset Time

At Loafing-Holt

When a Feller’s Itchin’ to Be Spanked

A Love Letter

Trouble in de Kitchen

The Quilting

Forever

Parted

Christmas

 

FROM HOWDY, HONEY, HOWDY 1905

“Howdy, Honey, Howdy!”

Encouragement

Twilight

 

FROM JOGGIN’ ERLONG 1906

The Capture

 

UNCOLLECTED POEMS

Emancipation (1890)

Welcome Address To the Western Association of Writers

Comrade

Love Is a Star

The Making Up

A Toast to Dayton (1917)

Sold A C.H.S. Episode (1890)

After the Struggle (1900)

The Builder (1905) To John H. Patterson, Esq.

Lullaby (II)

 

Index of Titles

FOR THE BEST IN PAPERBACKS, LOOK FOR THE

CLICK ON A CLASSIC www.penguinclassics.com

PENGUINCLASSICS SELECTED POEMS

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872—1906) overcame racism and poverty to become one of the best-known authors in America, and the first African American to earn a living from his poetry, fiction, drama, journalism, and lectures. This original collection includes the short novel The Sport of the Gods, Dunbar’s essential essays and short stories, and his finest poems, such as “Sympathy,” all which explore crucial social, political, and humanistic issues at the dawn of the twentieth century.


Shelley Fisher Fishkin is a professor of English and the director of American studies at Stanford University. An award-winning author, she is past president of the American Studies Association.


David Bradley is an associate professor of creative writing at the University of Oregon, and the author of South Street and The Chaneysville Incident, for which he received the 1982 PEN/ Faulkner Award. View titles by Paul Laurence Dunbar

About

Dialect poems by one of the nineteenth century's most talented African American lyricists

Paul Laurence Dunbar was “the most promising young colored man” in nineteenth-century America, according to Frederick Douglass, and subsequently one of the most controversial. His plantation lyrics, written while he was an elevator boy in Ohio, established Dunbar as the premier writer of dialect poetry and garnered him international recognition. More than a vernacular lyricist, Dunbar was also a master of classical poetic forms, who helped demonstrate to post–Civil War America that literary genius did not reside solely in artists of European descent. William Dean Howells called Dunbar’s dialect poems “evidence of the essential unity of the human race, which does not think or feel black in one and white in another, but humanly in all.”

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Table of Contents

Selected PoemsIntroduction
Bibliography
Suggestions for Further Reading
From Oak and Ivy (1893)
A Banjo Song
A Career
Columbian Ode
James Whitcomb Riley
Life
Lullaby
Melancholia
My Sort o' Man
Ode to Ethiopia
Sympathy
The Ol' Tunes
The Seedling

From Majors and Minors (1895)
After the Quarrel
Alice
Ballad
By the Stream
The Change Has Come
Changing Time
The Colored Soldiers
A Corn-Song
Dawn
Dirge
Disappointed
Ere Sleep Comes Down to Soother the Weary Eyes
Frederick Douglass
A Frolic
He Had His Dream
Hymn
Invitation to Love
Ione
The Master-Player
Ode for Memorial Day
One Life
The Poet and His Song
A Prayer
Retort
Ships that Pass in the Night
A Summer's Night
We Wear the Mask
To Pfrimmer

From Lyrics of Lowly Life (1896)
Accountability
An Ante-Bellum Sermon
The Corn-Stalk Fiddle
The Lawyers' Ways
Religion
After a Visit
The Spellin'-Bee
Keep A-Pluggin' away
An Easy-Goin' Feller
The Wooing
When de Co'n Pone's Hot
Discovered
The Delinquent
A Confidence
The Party

From Poems of Cabin and Field (1899)
The Deserted Plantation
Little Brown Baby
Christmas Is A-Comin'

From Lyrics of the Hearthside (1899)
Love's Apotheosis
The Paradox
The Right to Die
Behind the Arras
A Hymn
Dream Song I
Dream Song II
The King Is Dead
Theology
Resignation
Thou Art My Lute
The Phantom Kiss
The Crisis
Alexander Crummell Dead
Sonnet
Misapprehension
For the Man Who Fails
Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Warrior's Prayer
The Voice of the Banjo
A Choice
The Real Question
Jilted
Chrismus on the Plantation
Foolin' wid de Seasons
A Death Song
Jealous
Parted
A Letter
At Candle-Lightin' Time
How Lucy Backslid
Protest

From When Malindy Sings (1903)
When Malindy Sings
The Colored Band
In Memory of Martha
The Tryst
The Boogah Man
Noddin' by de Fire
My Sweet Brown Gal
In the Morning
The Plantation Child's Lullaby
Curiosity
Opportunity
Puttin' the Baby Away
Faith
The Fisher Child's Lullaby

From Lyrics of Love and Laughter (1903)
Joggin' Erlong
In May
Dreams
The Dove
The Valse
Song
Inspiration
When Dey 'Listed Colored Soldiers
Lincoln
To a Captious Critic
The Poet
A Spiritual
W'en I Gits Home
The Unsung Heroes
The Pool
Speakin' at de Cou't House
Black Samson of Brandywine
Douglass
Booker T. Washington
Philosophy
The Debt
By Rugged Ways
To the South
The Haunted Oak
Weltschmertz
Robert Gould Shaw
A Love Song
A Negro Love Song
The Fount of Tears
At the Tavern

From Li'l' Gal (1904)
Li'l' Gal
A Plea
Soliloquy of a Turkey
When Sam'l Sings

From Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow (1905)
A Boy's Summer Song
The Sand-Man
Johnny Speaks
Scamp
A Christmas Folksong
The Farm Child's Lullaby
Hope
The Awakening
A Musical
Twell de Night Is Pas'
Compensation
Anchored
Yesterday and To-morrow
At Sunset Time
At Loafing-Holt
When a Feller's Itchin' to Be Spanked
A Love Letter
Trouble in de Kitchen
The Quilting
Forever
Parted
Christmas

From Howdy, Howdy, Howdy (1905)
"Howdy, Howdy, Howdy!"
Encouragement
Twilight

From Joggin' Erlong (1906)
The Capture

Uncollected Poems
Emancipation
Welcome Address
Comrade
Love Is a Star
The Making Up
A Toast to Dayton
Sold a C.H.S. Episode
After the Struggle
The Builder
Lullaby (II)

Index of Titles
Index of First Lines

Excerpt

Table of Contents

 

PENGUINCLASSICS SELECTED POEMS

Title Page

Copyright Page

Introduction

 

FROM OAK AND IVY 1893

A Banjo Song

A Career

Columbian Ode

Life

Lullaby

Melancholia

My Sort o’ Man

Ode to Ethiopia

Sympathy

The Ol’ Tunes

The Seedling

 

FROM MAJORS AND MINORS 1895

After the Quarrel

Alice

Ballad

By the Stream

The Change Has Come

Changing Time

The Colored Soldiers

A Corn-Song

Dawn

Dirge

Disappointed

Ere Sleep Comes Down to Soothe the Weary Eyes

Frederick Douglass

A Frolic

He Had His Dream

Hymn

Invitation to Love

Ione

The Master-Player

Ode for Memorial Day

One Life

The Poet and His Song

A Prayer

Retort

Ships That Pass in the Night

A Summer’s Night

We Wear the Mask

To Pfrimmer

 

FROM LYRICS OF LOWLY LIFE 1896

Accountability

An Ante-Bellum Sermon

The Corn-Stalk Fiddle

The Lawyers’ Ways

Religion

After a Visit

The Spellin’-Bee

Keep A-Pluggin’ Away

An Easy-Goin’ Feller

The Wooing

When de Co’n Pone’s Hot

Discovered

The Delinquent

A Confidence

The Party

 

FROM POEMS OF CABIN AND FIELD 1899

The Deserted Plantation

Little Brown Baby

Chrismus Is A-Comin’

 

FROM LYRICS OF THE HEARTHSIDE 1899

Love’s Apotheosis

The Paradox

The Right to Die

Behind the Arras

A Hymn - After Reading Lead, Kindly Light.

Dream Song I

Dream Song II

The King Is Dead

Theology

Resignation

Thou Art My Lute

The Phantom Kiss

The Crisis

Alexander Crummell Dead

Sonnet On an Old Book with Uncut Leaves

Misapprehension

For the Man Who Fails

Harriet Beecher Stowe

The Warrior’s Prayer

The Voice of the Banjo

A Choice

The Real Question

Jilted

Chrismus on the Plantation

Foolin’ wid de Seasons

A Death Song

Jealous

Parted

A Letter

At Candle-Lightin’ Time

How Lucy Backslid

Protest

 

FROM WHEN MALINDY SINGS 1903

When Malindy Sings

The Colored Band

The Memory of Martha

The Tryst

The Boogah Man

Noddin’ by de Fire

My Sweet Brown Gal

In the Morning

The Plantation Child’s Lullaby

Curiosity

Opportunity

Puttin’ the Baby Away

Faith

The Fisher Child’s Lullaby

 

FROM LYRICS OF LOVE AND LAUGHTER 1903

Joggin’ Erlong

In May

Dreams

The Dove

The Valse

Song

Inspiration

When Dey ‘Listed Colored Soldiers

Lincoln

To a Captious Critic

The Poet

A Spiritual

W’en I Gits Home

The Unsung Heroes

The Pool

Speakin’ at de Cou’t House

Black Samson of Brandywine

Douglass

Booker T. Washington

Philosophy

The Debt

By Rugged Ways

To the South On Its New Slavery

The Haunted Oak

Weltschmertz

Robert Gould Shaw

A Love Song

A Negro Love Song

The Fount of Tears

At the Tavern

 

FROM LI’L’ GAL 1904

Li’l’ Gal

A Plea

Soliloquy of a Turkey

When Sam’l Sings

 

FROM LYRICS OF SUNSHINE AND SHADOW 1905

A Boy’s Summer Song

The Sand-Man

Johnny Speaks

Scamp

A Christmas Folksong

The Farm Child’s Lullaby

Hope

The Awakening

A Musical

Twell de Night Is Pas’

Compensation

Anchored

Yesterday and To-morrow

At Sunset Time

At Loafing-Holt

When a Feller’s Itchin’ to Be Spanked

A Love Letter

Trouble in de Kitchen

The Quilting

Forever

Parted

Christmas

 

FROM HOWDY, HONEY, HOWDY 1905

“Howdy, Honey, Howdy!”

Encouragement

Twilight

 

FROM JOGGIN’ ERLONG 1906

The Capture

 

UNCOLLECTED POEMS

Emancipation (1890)

Welcome Address To the Western Association of Writers

Comrade

Love Is a Star

The Making Up

A Toast to Dayton (1917)

Sold A C.H.S. Episode (1890)

After the Struggle (1900)

The Builder (1905) To John H. Patterson, Esq.

Lullaby (II)

 

Index of Titles

FOR THE BEST IN PAPERBACKS, LOOK FOR THE

CLICK ON A CLASSIC www.penguinclassics.com

PENGUINCLASSICS SELECTED POEMS

Author

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872—1906) overcame racism and poverty to become one of the best-known authors in America, and the first African American to earn a living from his poetry, fiction, drama, journalism, and lectures. This original collection includes the short novel The Sport of the Gods, Dunbar’s essential essays and short stories, and his finest poems, such as “Sympathy,” all which explore crucial social, political, and humanistic issues at the dawn of the twentieth century.


Shelley Fisher Fishkin is a professor of English and the director of American studies at Stanford University. An award-winning author, she is past president of the American Studies Association.


David Bradley is an associate professor of creative writing at the University of Oregon, and the author of South Street and The Chaneysville Incident, for which he received the 1982 PEN/ Faulkner Award. View titles by Paul Laurence Dunbar

National Depression Education and Awareness Month

For National Depression Education and Awareness Month in October, we are sharing a collection of titles that educates and informs on depression, including personal stories from those who have experienced depression and topics that range from causes and symptoms of depression to how to develop coping mechanisms to battle depression.

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

For LGBTQIA+ History Month in October, we’re celebrating the shared history of individuals within the community and the importance of the activists who have fought for their rights and the rights of others. We acknowledge the varying and diverse experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community that have shaped history and have led the way for those

Read more