Join us for an audio tour of the Paul Laurence Dunbar House in Dayton, Ohio. Ryan Qualls, Chief of Interpretation and Site Manager, walks listeners through Dunbar’s final residence and sheds light on the life and work of this prolific, groundbreaking author. Take a step back into history to learn about Dunbar’s early friendship with the Wright brothers; how a pivotal review launched him into literary fame; his dialect poetry; controversies and praise surrounding his writing; his influence on other American authors; and, of course, the house itself, including its furnishings and appliances, along with Dunbar’s books, swagger sticks, and more. Finally, Qualls shares a musical interpretation of the poem “On the River” to showcase how Dunbar’s poetry might have been performed during his lifetime. To see images from the tour, visit our accompanying blog post.

About Dunbar

Born in 1872 in Dayton, Ohio, to formerly enslaved parents, Paul Laurence Dunbar would go on to become one of the first nationally recognized African American poets—and the first to support himself financially through his writing. Over the course of Dunbar’s relatively short career, he authored twelve books of poetry, four novels, four short story collections, and two Broadway plays, as well as song lyrics. He died in 1906 at the age of thirty-three from tuberculosis, though his legacy endures today. Dunbar’s work has inspired many great American authors, including Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and others.

About the Paul Laurence Dunbar House

In 1904, Dunbar’s mother, Matilda J. Dunbar, purchased a two-story brick house located at 219 N. Summit Street (since renamed N. Paul Laurence Dunbar Street) in Dayton, Ohio. The house became Dunbar’s final residence, and following his death in 1906, Matilda meticulously maintained the house and her son’s belongings. Today, the house is owned and managed by the state of Ohio, is part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, and is open to the public for free tours.

Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and an edited transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email [email protected] (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Instagram or Facebook.