Herbert Woodward Martin, professor emeritus in the UD Department of English, former poet-in-residence and one of the nation’s most prominent Paul Laurence Dunbar scholars, died July 20. He was 92.
Martin leaves behind a 55-year legacy at UD, teaching generations of students in creative writing and African American literature. In addition to his contributions to the English department, Martin was renowned for his award-winning poetry and his portrayals of pioneering Black poet and Dayton native Paul Laurence Dunbar. Martin published nine volumes of poetry and edited four books, including In His Own Voice: The Dramatic and Other Uncollected Works of Paul Laurence Dunbar. He penned the libretto for an opera based on Dunbar’s work and discovered the original manuscript of the poet’s unpublished three-act play, Herrick.
Other accomplishments include the Governor's Award for the Arts given by the Ohio Arts Council in the "individual artist" category and the Mark Twain Award from the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature for "distinguished contributions" to literature and poetry.
He is also the focus of a scholarly book, Herbert Woodward Martin and the African American Tradition in Poetry, and a film, Jump Back Honey: the Poetry and Performance of Herbert Woodward Martin.
“This is such a loss — to UD, to our department, to the Dayton community and to the arts more broadly,” said English department chair John McCombe.
Martin began teaching at UD in 1971 and had retired by the time McCombe arrived in 2001.
“However, Herb was so active teaching classes, delivering poetry readings and publishing books that I didn't know that he was retired for several years,” McCombe said. “Once, when I was administering course evaluations — my class was in HM 202 and I was sitting outside in the hall — Herb asked if he could visit my class for a few minutes. I agreed, and when I returned to the classroom, I learned that he had written a collaborative poem with my students.”
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Martin began studying and reading aloud Dunbar’s poetry to his classmates, later turning that effort into a traveling one-man show. During the centennial celebration of Dunbar’s birth in 1972, he brought poets Margaret Walker and Nikki Giovanni to campus. For the 2022 sesquicentennial, he teamed with UD professor and vocalist Minnita Daniel-Cox to perform the works of Dunbar on campus to introduce Dunbar’s legacy to a new generation of students.
“While none of us have ever met or heard Paul Laurence Dunbar, if you had the good fortune of being in the presence of Herbert Martin when he was 'borrowing his voice,' I do believe that you were connected over the years to the spirit of that artistic genius,” said UD President Eric F. Spina. “Professor Martin truly seemed to embody Mr. Dunbar — with gravitas and grace, wit and wisdom, gentility and erudition. The detail that went into his performance was thoughtful, exhaustive and simply brilliant. It was the hallmark of all he did across his scholarly career and his life.”
Martin is honored on Dayton’s Walk of Fame and earned an honorary degree from UD in 2002.