Enjoy classic literature again with extra-large (48pt) print! Plus easy coloring pages! For senior activities, occupational therapy, gifts, and more! Empowering seniors to read again!Summary. Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906) was an African-American poet, novelist, and playwright. From an early age, Dunbar displayed prodigious literary gifts for poetry. He wrote his first poem at the age of six. When he was a teenager, some of his early poems were published and he was the president of his high school's literary society. He became one of America's most beloved poets.