During the weekend of Oct. 20, 1972, Black American poets, artists, critics, and scholars gathered at the University of Dayton to celebrate the centennial of the birth of Paul Laurence Dunbar. \u00a0The event, organized and hosted by Herb Martin, saw the likes of Margaret Walker Alexander, Etheridge Knight, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, Raymond Patterson,\u00a0Paulene Myers,\u00a0Paula Giddings,\u00a0Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis,\u00a0Lorenzo Thomas, Mr. and\u00a0Mrs. Alvin Aubert, and a host of others, including associate producer RonPrimeau. \u00a0Here’s his recollection:<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0I had known Herb Martin for about six months when he sent out word that he was planning a Dunbar Centennial for the fall of 1972.\u00a0 Together with two colleagues and six students, I headed off for what would be a life-changing experience.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dunbar was out of favor in the academic world of that time.\u00a0 Many were embarrassed by dialect or found the Dayton laureate to be inconsistent with their activist politics.\u00a0 Herb sent out invitations, and-to his surprise-over 25 poets and scholars came out of curiosity, respect, and a too-little expressed love for Dunbar.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I remember that Herb was beyond nervous.\u00a0 He really had no idea how he was going to pay for the burgeoning event, nor was he sure how the loosely structured series of readings and panels would work.\u00a0 The festivities began with all attendees planning how to perform their way through the entire Dunbar canon of poems.\u00a0 Luckily, Margaret Walker led off and showed everyone what Herb came to call later “how to sight read Dunbar.”\u00a0 You could feel the tension released as she read brilliantly poem after poem and the audience recalled or learned for the first time just how wonderful Dunbar’s music could be.\u00a0 I can still see poets packed into our state of Michigan rental cars as we helped transport guests back and forth from hotels to the University of Dayton campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Never had I seen such an array of talent in one place:\u00a0 Alvin Aubert,\u00a0 Nikki Giovanni, Michael S. Harper, Etheridge Knight, Gloria C. Oden, Sonia Sanchez, Raymond Patterson, Lorenzo Thomas, John Oliver Killen, Paule Marshall, J. Saunders Redding and the very young Alice Walker (whom I did not know and who I asked to squeeze in the back seat “with the poets”).\u00a0 Margaret Walker’s performance still rings in my ears.\u00a0 She made everyone else better than they knew how and created a confidence and respect that grew throughout the several days of tributes, explorations, and reexaminations of Dunbar’s work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0The restoration of Dunbar’s reputation and the reluctant partnership of Dunbar and Martin had begun in earnest.
\n\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\nHere are some film \u00a0and audio highlights. \u00a0The participants in the Friday night audio are reading Paul Laurence Dunbar in addition to some who are reading their own works. \u00a0The 35-minute reading by Margaret Walker Alexander is from Saturday and features her own “For My People,” a poem she describes as her “signature piece.” \u00a0We have more archived audio from the Saturday of the conference and we hope to post it in the near future. \u00a0If for any reason you cannot open the film highlights it\u00a0might be because you need the QuickTime Player. \u00a0You can download that for FREE\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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