Whispers from the Ridge
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Peek inside my notebook
  • Teaching the Writer

Poetry Friday: Spotlight on Paul Laurence Dunbar

9/7/2020

32 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Happy Poetry Friday! Welcome to the ridge! I am excited to be hosting the round up this week. Thanks for visiting, and be sure to leave your link for others to enjoy!

This week, I would like to share a few poems by one of my favorite poets, Paul Laurence Dunbar. He is known for his dialectic poetry collections, novels, essays, short stories, and other poems. If you would like to learn more about his life and accomplishments, HERE is a link to an article with more information.

The two poems I would like to share are "Sympathy" and "We Wear the Mask." Enjoy!
​
Sympathy
BY PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
    When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;   
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,   
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
    When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,   
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals--
I know what the caged bird feels!

I know why the caged bird beats his wing
    Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;   
For he must fly back to his perch and cling   
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
    And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars   
And they pulse again with a keener sting--
I know why he beats his wing!

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
    When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,--
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
    But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,   
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings--
I know why the caged bird sings!

Paul Laurence. Dunbar, "“Sympathy.”" from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, )
Source: Twentieth-Century American Poetry (2004)


We Wear the Mask
BY PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
       We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
       We wear the mask!

Paul Laurence. Dunbar, "“We Wear the Mask.”" from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, )

Invitation to Write:

A poet's words can often sustain us and change us all at once. With each word and line, our own emotions are unmasked. When we truly connect with a poem, it becomes a part of us. In this way, our favorite poems can be windows to our souls. Take some time to reread your favorite poems. Keep them close to you throughout the day. Memorize a line or the whole poem if you can. What do you value about these poems? How do the words of your favorite poems change you and sustain you? 
32 Comments
jama link
9/10/2020 08:36:07 am

Thanks for sharing these Dunbar poems (both new to me). They present much to ponder, esp. in light of what's happening in our country today. Thanks for hosting this week! (My link goes live at 6 a.m. Friday.)

Reply
Michelle Kogan link
9/10/2020 04:15:41 pm

Thanks for this fascinating post Kiesha, I went straight to your link on Dunbar for I wanted to search and find more about his caged bird, and how it possibly tied into Maya Angelous poem and memoir "I know why a Caged Bird Sings." Well that led me to finding out that Dunbar's "Caged Bird" came from his working in the Library of Congress, and it's talked about in this article and film that was made on Dunbar, https://blogs.loc.gov/catbird/2020/02/caged-bird-inspired-by-the-library-of-congress/#:~:text=Poet%20Maya%20Angelou's%20debut%20memoir,is%20her%20most%20famous%20work.&text=Yet%20its%20title%20is%20not,at%20the%20Library%20of%20Congress.
Thanks for both of his poems, and for hosting the roundup this week!

Reply
Kiesha M Shepard
9/11/2020 05:09:39 am

Thank you for sharing, Michelle! I was wondering about that line as well . I appreciate your further research :)

Reply
janice Scully link
9/10/2020 04:46:54 pm

What emotion in these poems! I had never read Paul Dunbar, so thank you for sharing these. "Why should the world be over-wise/ in counting all our tears and sighs?" Such a poignant poem, "We Wear the Mask."

Reply
KAY MCGRIFF
9/10/2020 04:51:42 pm

Thanks for hosting this week and for sharing both of Dunbar's poems. They speak right to today even though they were written long ago. Like Michelle, my first question was how does the first poem connect to Maya Angelou's memoir. Now to go exploring to learn more!

Reply
Ruth link
9/10/2020 05:21:43 pm

I messed up my post on Mister Linky, so it has a title from an old Poetry Friday post. My link should actually be called "Learning to Adjust," but now it won't let me add anything else. So I guess I'll learn to adjust. :-)

Thanks for hosting! I have been thinking about that mask poem lately because I thought someone should write a 2020 version.

Reply
Robyn Hood Black link
9/10/2020 05:36:13 pm

Yes, thanks so much for hosting, Kiesha, and for sharing these two Dunbar poems. Timely and timeless. And, thought-provoking questions! I do think favorite lines of poems have the power to sustain us; lines from some of mine (& verses from the Bible, too) have a way of holding me up in troubled times, especially. But they help us celebrate joyous days, too. :0)

Reply
Laura Shovan link
9/10/2020 06:16:54 pm

Thanks for hosting, Kiesha. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is so much associated with Maya Angelou -- I love seeing the original source in this Dunbar poem.

Reply
Linda Baie link
9/10/2020 07:05:43 pm

Wow, Kiesha, thank you for sharing these powerful poems by Dunbar, seem to be written for today and I'm glad to read Michelle's comment about the connection to I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings! Poems are full of stories that may not always be in the words! Thanks for hosting, too!

Reply
Matt Esenwine
9/10/2020 07:13:45 pm

Thanks for hosting and sharing these, Kiesha - Dunbar was an excellent poet more people need to know, not just for his intensely personal work but because it was he who coined that 'caged bird' phrase, not Angelou!

Reply
Buffy Silverman link
9/10/2020 08:05:31 pm

Thanks for hosting, Kiesha, and for sharing these two wonderful Dunbar poems. I read "Sympathy" years ago, when reading Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. But I don't think I had read "We Wear the Mask" before--and oh it feels so powerful today.

Reply
Alan Wright link
9/10/2020 09:23:02 pm

The choice of these Paul Dunbar poems are so very apt for these times Kiesha. Clever selections on your part. I particularly enjoyed, We Wear The Mask.' Thank you for sharing.

Reply
Molly Hogan link
9/11/2020 02:53:01 am

Thanks so much for hosting this week and for sharing these two poems. "Sympathy" is one I'll be back to reread and "We Wear the Mask" certainly resonates during these times. Great choices!

Reply
Heidi Mordhorst link
9/11/2020 03:50:52 am

Kiesha, thank you for these perfect poems for our moment in history. It is a revealing stain on our national conscience that they should be so meaningfully current despite their old-fashioned diction and 120 years of age.

And thank you for helping me realize a connection I had somehow missed: the caged bird of Maya Angelou's title is this same bird! It's also the same caged bird that appears in Robin DiAngelo's WHITE FRAGILITY, and I'm taking the liberty of quoting at length here about the powerful birdcage metaphor which I had not heard before. She writes about systemic racism as the “interlocking forces of oppression:”

“If you stand close to a birdcage and press your face against the wires, your perception of the bars will disappear and you will have an almost unobstructed view of the bird. If you turn your head to examine one wire of the cage closely, you will not be able to see the other wires. If your understanding of the cage is based on this myopic view, you may not understand why the bird doesn’t just go around the single wire and fly away. You might even assume that the bird liked or chose its place in the cage.

But if you stepped back and took a wider view, you would begin to see that the wires come together in an interlocking pattern — a pattern that works to hold the bird firmly in place. It now becomes clear that a network of systematically related barriers surrounds the bird. Taken individually, none of these barriers would be that difficult for the bird to get around, but because they interlock with each other, they thoroughly restrict the bird.

While some birds may escape from the cage, most will not. And certainly those that do escape will have to navigate many barriers that birds outside the cage do not.”

May it be a day of anti-racist action for each of us!

Reply
Kiesha M Shepard link
9/11/2020 05:11:46 am

Indeed! Thank you for sharing this, Heidi!

Reply
Mary Lee Hahn
9/11/2020 03:53:07 am

Thanks for hosting! I've missed you! I'll come back tomorrow morning and dig into your post -- so much to learn!

Reply
Irene Latham
9/11/2020 04:21:54 am

Oh, thank you for the Dunbar! I love the idea of poetry unmasking us, for what better place to be our true authentic selves than in a poem? Poetry reveals us... sometimes even to ourselves. Thank you so much for hosting and for welcoming us so warmly to your ridge. xo

Reply
Fran Haley link
9/11/2020 04:29:08 am

Such rousing selections from Dunbar - his style is majestic. His words soar. What do I value about these poems -? I think - beyond their sheer beauty - the unveiling (unmasking, if you will!) of deep and difficult truths while retaining the heart of faith. Sorrow tinged with hope. How do the words of my favorite poems change and sustain me -? When I love a poem, it's because its rhythms echo that of my heart, its images beckon new or deeper understanding, or because it is a glittering thing of beauty and I am in awe of it and want to hold onto it for the gem that it is. Most of all, poems I love best tend to remind me that I'm not alone - somewhere, sometime, someone has had an inkling and insight to what I think and feel. Such power lies in this - for the poem becomes a part of the reader. Part of our cells, our very atoms. Thank you for this lovely invitation to write, Keisha.

-Fran Haley

Reply
Kiesha M Shepard link
9/11/2020 05:13:21 am

So grateful to you for trying out this invitation and for sharing it with all of us, Fran!

Reply
Laura Purdie Salas link
9/11/2020 04:52:21 am

Thank you for hosting, Keisha, and for sharing these devastating Dunbar poems (though just a heads-up that they're very hard for me to read because there's not enough contrast between the white background and pale type). "With torn and bleeding hearts we smile," -- so much anguish...Fits right in with what I'm reading right now: STAMPED and WOKE. Trying to educate myself so I can do better.

Reply
Kiesha M Shepard link
9/11/2020 05:15:26 am

Thank you for sharing those titles, Laura! I'll add them to my list. Also, thanks for the tip about the font. I changed the font, so hopefully it's easier to read :)

Reply
Carmela Martino link
9/11/2020 05:52:26 am

Thanks so much for sharing these powerful poems, Kiesha. I'm curious about the connection with Maya Angelu's Caged Bird and will be checking out the link you shared.
Thanks for hosting the roundup today.
I'm sharing a link to my co-blogger Esther Hershehorn's post containing her Thanku and interview with Carol Coven Grannick on the release of Carol's debut novel in verse, REENI'S TURN. We're hosting a giveaway of the book to celebrate.
PS. I got an error message the first time I tried to post the link and now it seems I've included the link twice. Sorry about that.

Reply
Sarah
9/11/2020 06:59:29 am

Thank you for your wonderful post, Kiesha! I have been out of touch with poetry for so long that I don't have any favorites at the moment. I'm actually quite rusty, but I am so excited to get back into it! Thanks for hosting! I loved "We Wear the Mask." Just heart rending. Both were, actually, but that one just struck home. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
Linda Mitchell
9/11/2020 12:16:37 pm

Keisha, thank you for this post. It's full of favorite and foundational lines of American poetry heritage. I love finding key lines and carrying them around for a while. And, I am thrilled whenever you can get a Poetry Friday post in. How is the ridge? How is teaching? Sending you happy thoughts.

Reply
Tabatha link
9/11/2020 01:00:52 pm

Thank you for hosting and for sharing Paul Dunbar's poems with us. I have shared his poems in various posts in the past ("Invitation to Love," "Thou Art My Lute," and "The Dove.") I like his love poems.:-)
I like "A poet's words can often sustain us and change us all at once." Well said!

Reply
Carol Labuzzetta link
9/11/2020 01:15:43 pm

Kiesha, Thank you for hosting and sharing these Dunbar poems. He's quite introspective, I think. The poem called We wear the mask, makes me think of those with mental illness. Very often a smile is set and the general public is unaware of the turmoil inside the person. They are both very fitting poems for today. You've intrigued me. I'll have to look into him and his poetry more. Thanks, again!

Reply
Susan Bruck link
9/11/2020 03:40:09 pm

Thanks for sharing these 2 powerful and painful poems. I didn't know that Maya Angelou's book title came from a poem. And the mask poem is certainly appropriate for right now! You are so right that poems can sustain and change us at the same time.
Thanks for hosting, too.

Reply
Margaret Simon link
9/11/2020 03:45:36 pm

Thanks for hosting. It seems I put the wrong link in earlier today, probably well before 6 AM without coffee yet. I corrected it with a new link.
Thanks for the Dunbar poem. I am intrigued by the conversation that it has sparked. I read a bit about Alice Dunbar Nelson who was his wife for a time and apparently he was abusive to her. Kind of clouds my view, but perhaps the bird he refers to is his own violent tendencies. Of course, it's all supposition because we can never really know.

Reply
Sylvia Vardell link
9/11/2020 07:18:53 pm

Thanks for hosting Poetry Friday, Kiesha! I'm also a fan of Dunbar's work-- he paved the way for so many other poets! Thank you for bringing attention to his work again!

Reply
Carol Varsalona link
9/11/2020 09:00:46 pm

Kiesha, I just made the Poetry Friday deadline after a very long day of packing and getting my home ready for a showing. The day seems endless but I needed my writing time. Thank you for the great look at Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry. The second one resonated with me since the mask is now part of my wardrobe. I am sharing the second segment of my Embraceable Summer Gallery. Your poem from 2019 is included. Enjoy the gallery walk.

Reply
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater link
9/12/2020 03:15:24 pm

Thank you, Kiesha, for hosting us today and for these wise poems. I wish you a safe, lovely fall. xx

Reply
Catherine Flynn link
9/13/2020 03:36:47 pm

Thank you for hosting, Kiesha, and for sharing these powerful poems. "We Wear the Mask" is new to me. It is shameful that these "cries... from tortured souls" have gone unheeded for so long.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Welcome! I'm Kiesha Shepard, and I have a love for writing and the teaching of writing. Whispers From the Ridge is a place where I can share my words and ideas for teaching writing. It's also a place for you to find inspiration for writing the words inside of you. I invite you into my world of writing as I capture the whispers from the ridge.

    Picture
    Picture

    Follow by Email

    Subscribe to Whispers from the Ridge - Blog by Email
    Subscribe to Newsletter

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    February 2023
    November 2021
    September 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Categories

    All
    Animal Poems
    Autumn Poems
    Bird Poems
    Collecting Around A Topic
    Color Poems
    Concrete Poems
    Conversations With Nature
    Craft
    CSISD Writing Project
    Drafts
    Found Poems
    Friendship Poems
    Haiku
    Insect Poems
    Invitations To Write
    Line Breaks
    List Poems
    Magnet Topics
    National Poetry Month
    Observations To Consider
    Poem In Your Pocket Day
    Poems
    Poems About Flowers
    Poems About Hope
    Poems About Objects
    Poems About Places
    Poems About Science
    Poems About Serious Topics
    Poems About Sounds
    Poems About The Moon
    Poems About The Ocean
    Poem Songs
    Poems With Alliteration
    Poems With A Resolution
    Poems With Expressive Emotions
    Poems With Magic
    Poems With Repetition
    Poetry Challenges
    Poetry Friday
    Power Of Three Poem
    Progressive Poem
    Response Poems
    Revision
    Rhyming Poems
    Sensory Poems
    Spring Poems
    Summer Poems
    White Space
    Winter Poems
    Wonder Poems
    Writer's Notebook
    Writer's Tools
    Writing Life
    Writing Process
    Writing Spaces
    Writing Times

    Picture
    Click to learn about Poetry Friday!

    Schedule of Round Up:

    July
    2    Laura at Laura Shovan
    9    Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
    16  Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
    23  Kat at Kathryn Apel
    30  Becky at Sloth Reads
    August
    6   Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
    13 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
    20 Carol at The Apples in My Orchard
    27 Elisabeth at Unexpected Intersections
    September
    3   Heidi at my juicy little universe
    10 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
    17 Denise at Dare to Care
    24 Laura at Laura Purdie Salas
    October
    1   Catherine at Reading to the Core
    8   Irene at Live Your Poem
    15 Bridget at wee words for wee ones
    22 Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup
    29 Linda at TeacherDance
    November
    5   Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
    12 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
    19 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
    26 Ruth at there is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
    December
    3   Michelle at Michelle Kogan
    10 Cathy at Merely Day by Day
    17 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch
    24 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
    31 Carol at Carol's Corner

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Kristine Paulus, Ryan Hodnett, Marie Hale, gurdonark, btrentler, Kelly Colgan Azar, jeffreyw, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Peek inside my notebook
  • Teaching the Writer