Paul Laurence Dunbar, a contemporary of Mark Twain's who died in 1906, addressed many of the same issues that Twain did, and helped inspire some later writers who also drew inspiration from Twain (such as Langston Hughes). Forum members may be interested in the Paul Laurence Dunbar Centennial Conference to be held at Stanford March 10-11, 2006. In eight consecutive panels, running from Friday morning until Saturday evening, the conference will focus on topics including: Dunbar's relationship to his literary predecessors, contemporaries, and successors; his stylistic innovations and experiments in literary form; his engagement with cultural discourses of realism, humor, and dialect; his personal and political confrontation with the history of the Nadir; his interest in religious faith and folklore; his engagement with visual culture; and his ground-breaking literary movements onto the international stage and into transracial subject matter. It will include a performance of Dunbar's writing for and about children. It is free and open to the public. Details at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/dunbar/