Find mistakes in capitalization and punctuation and correcting them. to make it easier for you to determine the ideas in the report, asterisks have been used to separate some of the sentences. you may revise some sentences slightly if you wish.

the legacy of any individual is always a difficult item to measure * it is calibrated against the tenor of the times and the underlying currents of society * these issues have always colored how literary historians and others have viewed the works of paul laurence dunbar * poet and author writer and revolutionary dunbar shows aspects that fit into many niches and philosophies * yet what is the essence of this african american writer from dayton ohio

paul laurence dunbar wrote more than just poetry he wrote literature in all of its venues * he wrote poems and novels newspaper articles and lyrics for broadway musicals * he wrote short stories and operettas ballads and orations * he is credited as the first writer to put the african american experience in all its diverse forms before a broader audience * his work became the voice for the african american experience in america at that time

dunbar became known for his use of dialect to capture the african american experience * yet his talent could not be confined to that form alone * paul laurence dunbar was an experimenter and innovator who tried to express his feelings and vision in the many forms that literature offers * he has been called the poet laureate of his people yet he has become a voice for all people * through all of his writing runs the desire to explain the ambitions hopes and dreams of african americans * he strived to show to the world the reality of blacks as caring thoughtful creative individuals as people not stereotypes * he was an african american struggling with the racism and oppression of his time and yet he is a spokesperson for all who have dreams unfulfilled

paul laurence dunbar was the first african american to be widely accepted and acclaimed within literary fields in the united states * it began with a review of his work published by william dean howells in 1896 and continued into the 1920s and beyond * dunbars work laid the foundations of and set the stage for the harlem renaissance of the 20s and 30s * this was an explosion of literary and cultural talent unlike anything this nation has seen since * dunbars work remained a model for writers during this period including james weldon johnson countee cullen and langston hughes

today schools banks hospitals and other institutions across the nation are named in honor of paul laurence dunbar * his work remains a legacy of the past and a beacon for the future * it encompasses all the expressions of human emotion and is just plain good literature