Editing Paul Laurence Dunbar (section)

===Marriage and declining health===
[[File:Paul Laurence Dunbar Gravestone.JPG|right|thumb|Dunbar grave site at Woodland Cemetery, 2007]]
After returning from the United Kingdom, Dunbar married [[Alice Dunbar Nelson|Alice Ruth Moore]], on March 6, 1898. She was a teacher and poet from [[New Orleans]] whom he had met three years earlier.<ref>Wagner, 78.</ref> Dunbar called her "the sweetest, smartest little girl I ever saw".<ref>Best, 81.</ref> A graduate of Straight University (now [[Dillard University]]), a [[historically black college]], Moore is best known for her short story collection, ''Violets''. She and her husband also wrote books of poetry as companion pieces. An account of their love, life and marriage was portrayed in ''Oak and Ivy,'' a 2001 play by Kathleen McGhee-Anderson.<ref>[http://bestof.riverfronttimes.com/2001-02-14/culture/color-bind/ "Color Bind", Review: ''Oak and Ivy''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095607/http://bestof.riverfronttimes.com/2001-02-14/culture/color-bind/ |date=September 29, 2007 }}, "Best of St. Louis", ''Riverfront Times'', February 14, 2004.</ref>

In October 1897 Dunbar took a job at the [[Library of Congress]] in Washington, DC. He and his wife moved to the capital, where they lived in the comfortable [[LeDroit Park, Washington, D.C.|LeDroit Park]] neighborhood. At the urging of his wife, Dunbar soon left the job to focus on his writing, which he promoted through public readings. While in Washington, DC, Dunbar attended [[Howard University]] after the publication of ''Lyrics of Lowly Life''.<ref name="Song of America 2017">{{cite web | title=Dunbar | website=Song of America | date=September 13, 2017 | url=https://songofamerica.net/composer/dunbar-paul-laurence/ | access-date=December 3, 2019}}</ref>

In 1900, he was diagnosed with [[tuberculosis]], then often fatal, and his doctors recommended drinking [[whisky]] to alleviate his symptoms. On the advice of his doctors, he moved to [[Colorado]] with his wife, as the cold, dry mountain air was considered favorable for TB patients. Dunbar and his wife separated in 1902, after he nearly beat her to death<ref>Alexander, 168.</ref> but they never divorced. Depression and declining health drove him to a dependence on alcohol, which further damaged his health.

Dunbar returned to Dayton in 1904 to be with his mother. He died of tuberculosis on February 9, 1906, at the age of 33.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.dunbarsite.org/biopld.asp | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20041021235933/http://www.dunbarsite.org/biopld.asp | url-status = dead | archive-date = October 21, 2004 | title = Biography page at Paul Laurence Dunbar web site | publisher = University of Dayton | date = February 3, 2003 }}</ref> He was [[interred]] in the [[Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum|Woodland Cemetery]] in Dayton.<ref>Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 13250). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.</ref>