Lyrics of the Hearthside

First published in 1899, "Lyrics of the Hearthside" is a collection of poetry by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906). Dunbar was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet during the turn of the 20th century. Born to ex-slave parents, Dunbar began writing at a very early age and had even published his first poems by the age of 16 in a local newspaper. Much of his work was written in the "African-American Vernacular" associated with the antebellum South, although he also employed conventiona