{"product_id":"paul-laurence-dunbar-the-life-and-times-of-a-caged-bird-paperback","title":"Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eGene Andrew Jarrett\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe definitive biography of a pivotal figure in American literary history\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA major poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) was one of the first African American writers to garner international recognition in the wake of emancipation. In this definitive biography, the first full-scale life of Dunbar in half a century, Gene Andrew Jarrett offers a revelatory account of a writer whose Gilded Age celebrity as the \"poet laureate of his race\" hid the private struggles of a man who, in the words of his famous poem, felt like a \"caged bird\" that sings. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJarrett tells the fascinating story of how Dunbar, born during Reconstruction to formerly enslaved parents, excelled against all odds to become an accomplished and versatile artist. A prolific and successful poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and Broadway librettist, he was also a friend of such luminaries as Frederick Douglass and Orville and Wilbur Wright. But while audiences across the United States and Europe flocked to enjoy his literary readings, Dunbar privately bemoaned shouldering the burden of race and catering to minstrel stereotypes to earn fame and money. Inspired by his parents' survival of slavery, but also agitated by a turbulent public marriage, beholden to influential benefactors, and helpless against his widely reported bouts of tuberculosis and alcoholism, he came to regard his racial notoriety as a curse as well as a blessing before dying at the age of only thirty-three. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBeautifully written, meticulously researched, and generously illustrated, this biography presents the richest, most detailed, and most nuanced portrait yet of Dunbar and his work, transforming how we understand the astonishing life and times of a central figure in American literary history.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eGene Andrew Jarrett\u003c\/b\u003e is Dean of the Faculty and William S. Tod Professor of English at Princeton University. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eRepresenting the Race: A New Political History of African American Literature\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDeans and Truants: Race and Realism in African American Literature. \u003c\/i\u003eHe is also the coeditor of \u003ci\u003eThe Collected Novels of Paul Laurence Dunbar\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Complete Stories of Paul Laurence Dunbar. \u003c\/i\u003eWebsite geneandrewjarrett.com Twitter @GeneJarrett\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 560\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.9 x 7.9 x 5.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 17, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51759156363552,"sku":"9780691254760","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/2fd45c616bdc0f734d63f834a76520e8.webp?v=1780143735","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/paul-laurence-dunbar-the-life-and-times-of-a-caged-bird-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}