On June 29, 1893, Paul Laurence Dunbar was in Warsaw, Indiana, to attend the annual conference of the Western Association of Writers. He was 21 years old and known regionally for his writings, but had not yet achieved national fame. In the evening, Paul took part in a program held at the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Western Association of Writers 8th Annual Literary and Musical Entertainment
Program Second Part
Poem. Paul Dunbar, The Ohio Colored Poet
Western Association of Writers recital program, June 29, 1893. Manuscripts and Rare Books Division, Indiana State Library.
The annual entertainment, at the M. E. Church, was above and beyond all former efforts. It introduced poems and sketches, papers and discussions from the cream of the association, including Gov. Cumback, Eugene Weaver, of Kansas, Mary Hartwell Catherwood, Lee O. Harris, W. W. Pfrimmer and Paul Dunbar, who has won for himself the title of "The Ohio Colored Poet."
"Association of Writers Elects Officers." The Indianapolis Journal (Indianapolis, Indiana). June 30, 1893. Page 2.
Later that summer, Paul described his experiences in a letter to James Newton Matthews, a country doctor and poet from Mason, Illinois. Dr. Matthews was on the executive committee of the WAW, but did not attend the conference that year.
I hardly know how to tell you about the W. A. W. It was so altogether delightful that I cannot pretend to give you anything like an idea of it. Not the least part of the pleasure of the occasion was the social side of it. There were fishing and boating parties and many kindred amusements, and on the last day in lieu of a banquet a dinner was given at which toasts and speeches were made. I spoke on two occasions, giving first "The Old Country Paper," a new piece in pure English, and as an encore "The Ol' Tunes." On concert night, I gave "The Rivals," a humorous dialect sketch, and responded with "My Soot of Maw." I don't believe I ever enjoyed a week more in all my life.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to James Newton Matthews, August 12, 1893. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 1).
Paul wrote a poem about his visit to Indiana, using Midwestern dialect to describe the scenery and the people. The poem was published as part of a Chicago Tribune article about Black poets.
Paul Dunbar is in all particulars the most interesting. And there is ground for much profitable speculation upon what this mere lad will contribute for good to the future of American literature. His verse in dialect has a strong native flavor which reminds one of our own Whitcomb Riley. The following will illustrate:
Over in Injiany.
The woods are still in colors drest,
Over in Injiany,
The robin hasn't begun her nest,
Over in Injiany;
But the maple sap is a runnin' fair,
A patch o' green shows here and there,
An' a kiss o' spring is in the air,
Over in Injiany.The sky is sort o' gloomy gray,
Over in Injiany,
But I know the light ain't far away,
Over in Injiany.
An' the hosts of spring in the threshold throng,
An' the birds are waitin' to burst into song,
But the days o' waitin' 'll not be long,
Over in Injiany.Last year's cornstalks ain't plowed up yet,
Over in Injiany.
The groun' is sort o' cold an' wet,
Over in Injiany.
But the people's hearts are warm and free,
And they welcome a man right royally.
Lo, I reckon I've found the folks for me,
Over in Injiany.This was written after he had been elected a member of the Western Association of Authors and had returned to Ohio from one of its annual meetings. Mr. Dunbar has, undoubtedly, a great future and it is not expecting too much to look for some work from his pen which will arrest the attention of all the people of the land.
"Pride of the Race." The Chicago Sunday Tribune (Chicago, Illinois). October 29, 1893. Pages 25 - 26.