Frederick Douglass once said that Paul Laurence Dunbar is "the most promising young black man in America" ​​(Paul Poets.org). This is fine with Dunbar as he ultimately turned out to be one of the best dialect poets of his period. Paul Dunbar (1872-1906) was part of the modernist movement that wanted to create something new and get rid of old literature. They used more free verse poetry and stream of consciousness writing. The time period lasted from 1890 to the 1940s (PBS np). Paul Dunbar's parents were slaves before and after his birth and then separated shortly after his birth and were financially unable to attend college, which led him to befriend Frederick Douglass to help Dunbar become a writer improve. Paul Dunbar was born into a difficult life from the start. His parents were slaves and separated shortly after his birth, but this helped Dunbar later in his career because Dunbar would draw stories from their life on the plantations (Paul Poetry Foundation). He had to grow up without two parents and had to make it on his own. Dunbar was also financially unable to attend college and eventually moved to Chicago and befriended Frederick Douglass (Paul Poetry Foundation np). These events affected his life by not allowing Dunbar to attend college and hone his writing skills and Douglass helped him gain more reputation. Dunbar challenged the literary world by trying to make words read and not just read words. He fought slavery through his poetry and always referred to people as “we” and never “I.” This is important because Dunbar wanted to advocate for the entire black community and it is important that he inspired so many people to read his poems. Dunbar influenced modernism by writing some...half of a sheet of paper......he gave his consent to his race as a whole and not just to himself. Works Cited Andrews, William L. "Dunbar, Paul Laurence." Advanced World Book. World Book, Inc. Web. May 7, 2014. .Carrol, William. “We wear masks.” Literary reference center. Web of EBSCO Industries, Inc. May 13, 2014.."Paul Laurence Dunbar." Sweet search. Dulcinea Media, Inc.Web. May 15, 2014..PBS. PBS and Web. May 14 2014. .