Dana had an interest in literature. His first book was a volume of stories translated from German, entitled "The Black Aunt" (New York and Leipzig, 1848). In 1857, he edited an anthology, "The Household Book of Poetry". His translation from German of "Nutcracker and Sugardolly: A Fairy Tale" was published in 1856 by the Philadelphia publisher C.G. Henderson & Co. In addition to translating German, Dana could read the Romance and Scandinavian languages. With Rossiter Johnson, he edited, "Fifty Perfect Poems" (New York, 1883).