"I don't want students to just imitate what they hear on the Web site," said Herbert Woodward Martin, professor emeritus of English at the University of Dayton. "But if people come to it and listen and read and become more aware of who Dunbar is, that's exciting. That's a pleasure."
Search URLwire archives since 1994

"He had a very good ear and excellent eye and even a vision for the rest of the century that he did not live out," Martin said of the poet who died at the age of 33 in 1906. "He offers us a way of looking at his world. 

"Younger kids in elementary school need to grasp the importance of Dunbar. For an African American born here to exhibit literary talent? Most of the world did not think of black people as gifted or talented, just as manual laborers. But Dunbar's use of language in a subtle and metaphorical way, that was a sterling event, at least in the new America. 

"To be aware of Dunbar, to identify with him and perhaps be proud of him -- there isn't much visibility for 19th-century black writers." 

Judged to be on par with Mark Twain in conveying dialect, Dunbar also wrote in standard English and wrote plays, essays and short stories in addition to poetry. The Web site features such well-known poems as "We Wear the Mask" and "The Poet and His Song." Dialect poems featured in the readings include "When Dey 'Listed Colored Soldiers" and "When Malindy Sings." 

More than a dozen new poems have been added for this February, including "Ode to Ethiopia," "A Negro Love Song," "Emancipation" and "Compensation:" 
 

Because I had loved so deeply, 
Because I had loved so long, 
God in His great compassion 
Gave me the gift of song. 

Because I have loved so vainly, 
And sung with such faltering breath, 
The Master in infinite mercy 
Offers the boon of death. 

"I don't want students to just imitate what they hear on the Web site," said Martin, ever the educator. "But if people come to it and listen and read and become more aware of who Dunbar is, that's exciting. That's a pleasure." 

For media interviews, contact  at (937) 229-3439 or via e-mail. 
 
 
 

.

Editors at the below venues and hundreds of others are subscribers to URLwire. Sites announced via URLwire are featured regularly at these and other online news and reviews outlets:

Yahoo Picks of the Week!	Yahooligans! Cool Sites
About.com	USA Today Hot Sites & Web Guide
Internet Scout Project	CNet
ResearchBuzz	BBCi Webguide
WDfM	Daily Rotation
MSNBC	ZDNet
Chris Pirillo's LockerGnome	Traffick: The Guide To Portals
Internet.com	Arizona Reporter
WebProWire	Reuters
Business2.0	Kleinman Report
NewsIndex	j.ello report
WIRED	Internet Tourbus