I hope there is something worthy in my writings and not merely the novelty of a black face associated with the power to rhyme that has attracted attention.
Source: in Valerie Smith, AFRICAN-AMERICAN WRITERS, 1991
-- Paul Laurence Dunbar, (Jun 27 1872-1906), US poet, novelist, short-story writer; He was the first African American poet to gain a national audience; wrote four volumes of poetry including Oak and Ivy.