The Dunbar Music Archive was established by Dr. Minnita Daniel-Cox in 2014. This resource is meant to increase awareness and consumption of musical settings of texts by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar the poet, author, librettist, activist, and essayist was a seminal figure in establishing a poetic voice that would influence African-American poets for generations, including those responsible for the blossoming of the Harlem Renaissance.
For translation and pronunciation information for dialect terms used in Dunbar's poetry, see the Dunbar Glossary of Dialect Terms.
This collection was produced by University of Dayton's Department of Music, the University Libraries and the University of Dayton's media production group.
The Dunbar Music Archive will be expanding through generous funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, and the University of Dayton College of Arts and Sciences. Please explore the contents of this collection and stay tuned for the launch of the Dunbar Library and Archive.
Selected Poems
A Banjo Song, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Boy's Summer Song, Paul Laurence Dunbar
Accountability, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Corn-song, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Death Song, Paul Laurence Dunbar
Advice, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Florida Night, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Frolic, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Golden Day, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Hymn - After reading "Lead, Kindly Light", Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Love Song, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Madrigal, Paul Laurence Dunbar
An Ante-bellum Sermon, Paul Laurence Dunbar
An Easy-Goin' Feller, Paul Laurence Dunbar
An Easy-Goin' Feller (Video), Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Negro Love Song, Paul Laurence Dunbar
Angelina, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Plea, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Poet and His Song, Paul Laurence Dunbar
Appreciation, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Prayer, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Sailor's Song, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Song, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Song, Paul Laurence Dunbar
A Spiritual, Paul Laurence Dunbar