Ask The Puma Research Guides: We Wear the Mask

We Wear the Mask

Paul Laurence Dunbar was one of the first African-American authors and poets to achieve worldwide acclaim.  Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask” appears in his 1896 collection entitled Lyrics of Lowly Life.  The poem “We Wear the Mask” concerns how black Americans had to deal with tragic racism by hiding their true feelings from white people.

LINCCWeb online catalog – Search Terms

• Dunbar, Paul Laurence (Author)
• Dunbar, Paul Laurence (Subject)

Call Numbers for Browsing the Shelves

• PS153 .N5
• PS1556 – PS1557

Circulating Books – A Selected List

• Braxton, Joanne (Ed.).  The Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar. 1993.

                      Call Number:  PS1556 .A1 1993   * (See pgs. xxii-xxiii, 71.)

• Dunbar, Paul Laurence. The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. 1980.

                    Call Number:  PS1556 .A1 1980   * (See pg. 71.)

• Pettis, Joyce.  African American Poets: Lives, Works, and Sources. 2002.

                     Call Number:  PS153 .N5 P48 2002   * (See pgs. 99-106.)

• Revell, Peter.  Paul Laurence Dunbar. 1979.

                    Call Number:  PS1557 .R4   * (See pgs. 57, 71-72, 164.)

Reference Materials

• African American Writers. – Call Number:  REF PS153 .N5 A344 2001

o Vol. 1, pg. 191

•  Masterplots II:  Poetry Series (Revised Edition). – Call Number:  REF PN1110.5 .M37 2002

o Vol. 8, pgs. 4205-4207

• Poetry Criticism. – Call Number:  REF PN1010 .P6

o Vol. 5, pgs. 24, 130, 132, 135, 140, 142, 144

• Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. – Call Number:  REF PN771 .G27

o Vol. 12, pgs. 121, 124-125

Research Databases

To access Valencia’s research databases, open your Atlas account, select ‘Search the Library’, then select ‘Databases A-Z’.

• Academic Search Complete
• JSTOR
• Literature Resources from Gale
• Poetry & Short Story Reference Center (EBSCO) 

This Research Guide is designed to help users find information on a particular topic within the Valencia College East Campus Library.  This is by no means a comprehensive list of resources and other resources may be available on this topic.  Please check the LINCCWeb, Valencia East’s online catalog, to verify the availability of circulating books within the library.  Feel free to ask a librarian for help if you need further assistance.