Paul Laurence Dunbar
American · Late 19th century
African American poet from the turn of the century, one of the first highly successful African American writers, who worked as an elevator operator while trying to get published.
Connection to Taylor Swift
Thematic parallel to the social mask-wearing and performance imagery in Taylor's writing, the universal human practice of putting on a face for different social settings.
Notable Works
- We Wear the Mask
Appears in the Archive
Context within the Archive
We Wear the Mask
“Forcing laughter, faking smiles”
Angela & Uncle Jerry connect the lyric about faking smiles at a social event to Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem 'We Wear the Mask,' which addresses the universal human experience of putting on a public face, originally written about African Americans navigating white society but applicable to anyone performing in social settings.