An American author whose reputation rests upon his verse and short stories written in African American dialect, Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) was among the first African American writers to become self-supporting as a writer and to attain national prominence. This book contains his complete poetical works, his best short stories, numerous anecdotes and a complete biography of Dunbar by Lida Keck Wiggins, plus an introduction by William Dean Howells.