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Paul Laurence Dunbar The first African American poet to address Negro folk life was a man of many talents. This man wrote poems and newspaper articles and became nationally recognized for his lyrical prose and poetry style. Who is Paul Laurence Dunbar…Why he is the man Dayton, Ohio proudly claims as a native son! Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872, to Joshua and Matilda Dunbar, natives of Kentucky. Both of Dunbar’s parents were former slaves who had escaped to freedom. Joshua served in the 5th Massachusetts Infantry and the 5th Massachusetts Colored Calvary Regiment during the Civil War (Addison). Joshua and Matilda had two children before they separated in 1874. Dunbar had a great home life! His mother was dedicated with inspiring him to achieve greatness. Matilda would tell Paul stories before he went to bed each night (Sci). These stories dealt with plantation life and the problems with his everyday life, and these stories were a great inspiration for Paul’s writings. Some of Dunbar’s poems are written in Southern dialect to reflect his mother’s storytelling, Paul had a habit of listening to other people’s speech pattern (Sci). Paul’s wife, Alice Ruth Moore, who he married in 1898 and later divo