Frederick Douglass once said that Paul Laurence Dunbar is "the most promising young colored man in America" ​​(Paul Poets.org). This goes well with Dunbar since he ultimately proved to be one of the best dialect poets of his time. 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 period extended from 1890 to the 1940s (PBS np). Paul Dunbar's parents were slaves before and after his birth, then separated shortly after his birth and were financially unable to attend college, leading him to befriend Frederick Douglass to help Dunbar become a better writer. 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 as Dunbar drew stories from their plantation lives (Paul Poetry Foundation). He had to grow up without two parents and fend for himself. Dunbar was also financially unable to attend college and eventually moved to Chicago and became friends with Frederick Douglass (Paul Poetry Foundation np). These events affected his life by not allowing Dunbar to go to college and hone his writing skills and Douglass helped him gain more reputation. Dunbar challenged the literary world by trying to make it read into words and not just read words. He fought slavery through his poetry and always called people “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 made an impact on modernism by writing in the middle of a paper......he represented his race as a whole and not just himself. Works Cited Andrews, William L. "Dunbar, Paul Laurence." Advanced World Book. World Book, Inc. Web. May 7, 2014. .Carrol, William. “We wear the mask.” Literary reference center. EBSCO Industries, Inc. Web. May 13, 2014."Paul Laurence Dunbar." Sweet search. Dulcinea Media, Inc. Web. May 15, 2014..PBS. PBS and Web. May 14 2014. .