Dunbar Library | Photo by Qusai Takuri | The Wright State Guardian
The Wright State University (WSU) Libraries encourages students from all backgrounds to submit poetry and visual art as part of the Dunbar 150 celebrations.
Library art and poetry competition
Dunbar 150 events hosted by the university libraries is in celebration of Paul Lawerence Dunbar’s 150th anniversary of birth.
Paul Lawerence Dunbar was a prominent African-American literary figure of the early 20th century most famous for his poetry.
A collection of Dunbar’s work can be found on the Wright State University Libraries website.
Entries of visual art and poetry must be inspired by Dunbar’s work. This is the only restriction applied to submitted work and WSU students from any major/background and students from area high schools may apply.
As long as entries are received by March 16, they are eligible to be judged. Students are encouraged to continue to submit work through Apr. 8 for a chance to be featured in a reception on April 15 for all work received from WSU students and area high-school students.
The application form has been open since February 3, yet the library has not been very successful in garnering submissions.
“We recognize that students are very busy, especially at this time of year, and we haven’t seen the number of submissions we’d hoped we would have,” assistant librarian Mandy Shannon said.
Judging for the awards will be conducted by Friends of the Library, the sponsor for the event. The Friends board includes Gary Barlow, professor emeritus and past chair of art education, and Sharon Lynette Jones, professor of English.
The awards distinctions are poetry by a high school student, poetry by a Wright State student, visual art by a high school student and visual art by a Wright State student.
Winners will receive a plaque to commemorate their achievement.
Dunbar 150
The competition is not the only event hosted by the library for Dunbar 150.
The next WSU Dunbar 150 event will be the reception. More WSU Dunbar 150 events can be found here.
The art competition and “Visions of Dunbar” project originally started with a visual art competition in the 1990s. The library wanted to do more to celebrate Dunbar’s work since he is their namesake.
“We submitted an application for a mini-grant to the Friends of the Library to help fund the event, and things have just grown from there,” Chris Wydman, university archivist and one of the organizers of the library competition, said.
The Paul Laurence Dunbar House Historic Site, better known as just “Dunbar House,” is also taking part in such Dunbar 150 events.
The Dunbar house is where Dunbar lived until his death in 1906. A flagship event will be held on the evening of June 25 at the Grand Victoria Theater, featuring readings of Dunbar’s work and musical selections. More information can be found here.
