Paul Laurence Dunbar

Although Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony and his arrangements of African American spirituals are his best known works, Dawson also composed a number of art songs and orchestral pieces, Regardless of which musical form he worked with, Dawson consistently incorporated African American thematic material into his music. He emphasized in his own work and his teaching that African American musical heritage encompassed jazz and jazz-derived musical forms, but was not limited to these popular forms. He turned to African American poets including Paul Laurence Dunbar to supply his librettos and incorporated many folk forms into his works (Monroe, 114-134).