(EMAILWIRE.COM, March 06, 2007 ) Alexandria, VA - The website PaulLaurenceDunbar.net has released a new version of Paul Laurence Dunbar's classic dialect poem, "When Malindy Sings," written in Near-Standard English, by Rev. Bill McGinnis, a student and admirer of Dunbar and owner of the website.

"This beautiful poem of Dunbar's was originally written in slavery dialect," said McGinnis. "It is perhaps his most famous and best loved poem, even though the use of Dialect has been criticized by many, as demeaning to African-Americans."

Dunbar himself greatly preferred to write in Standard English, and he complained in vain that his publishers at the time would reject his Standard English poems -- no matter how good they were -- and ask him to please submit poems in Dialect, which they would then publish eagerly.

"But it seems to me that Dunbar deliberately wrote many of his Dialect poems in such a way that they could easily be converted into Near-Standard English at a future date, when the country was ready for them," said McGinnis. "A hundred and one years have now gone past since Paul Laurence Dunbar died," said McGinnis. "And I think the country is now ready for his Dialect poems to be converted into Standard English, or something almost like Standard English. I think this is what he hoped we would do when he wrote the Dialect poems."

Here is the first verse of the original Dialect poem, along with the Near-Standard English converted version.

WHEN MALINDY SINGS - First Verse in Dialect and Near-Standard English

By Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)

Written In Dialect by Paul Laurence Dunbar
and converted into Near-Standard English by Rev. Bill McGinnis

MP3 Reading (dialect) by Rev. Bill McGinnis at
http://www.paullaurencedunbar.net/whenmalindysings.mp3

MP3 Reading (near-standard English) by Rev. Bill McGinnis at
http://www.paullaurencedunbar.net/whenmalindysings-std.mp3


Dialect

G'way an' quit dat noise, Miss Lucy--
Put dat music book away;
What's de use to keep on tryin'?
Ef you practise twell you 're gray,
You cain't sta't no notes a-flyin'
Lak de ones dat rants and rings
F'om de kitchen to de big woods
When Malindy sings.



Near-Standard English

Go way and quit that noise, Miss Lucy--
Put that music book away;
What's the use to keep on trying?
If you practice till you're gray,
You can't start those notes a-flying
Like the ones that rant and ring
From the kitchen to the big woods
When Malindy sings.


. . . more at the website.

You can read and download all nine verses, in both versions, at our website at http://www.paullaurencedunbar.net/whenmalindysings.html

Both versions of the poem and both readings are in the Public Domain, free for everyone to use without restriction.


Blessings to you. May God help us all.


Rev. Bill McGinnis, Director
http://www.loveallpeople.org
and all its related websites.

Contact Information:

William McGinnis
Tel:
Email us


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