Portrait of Phillis Wheatley, attributed by some scholars to Scipio Moorhead
Born
c. 1753 West Africa
Died
December 5, 1784(1784-12-05) (aged 31) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation
Poet
Language
English
Period
American Revolution
Notable works
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773)
Spouse
John Peters
Children
Uncertain. Up to three with none surviving past early childhood.[1]
Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly (c. 1753 – December 5, 1784) was an American author who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry.[2][3] Born in West Africa, she was kidnapped and subsequently sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America, where she was bought by the Wheatley family of Boston. After she learned to read and write, they encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.
On a 1773 trip to London with the Wheatleys' son, seeking publication of her work, Wheatley met prominent people who became her patrons. The publication in London of her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral on September 1, 1773, brought her fame both in England and the American colonies. Prominent figures, such as George Washington, praised her work.[4] A few years later, African-American poet Jupiter Hammon praised her work in a poem of his own.
Wheatley was emancipated by the Wheatleys shortly after the publication of her book of poems.[5] The Wheatleys died soon thereafter and Phillis Wheatley married John Peters, a poor grocer. They lost three children, who all died young. Wheatley-Peters died in poverty and obscurity at the age of 31.
^"Phillis Wheatley". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
^Gates, Jr., Henry Louis, Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America's First Black Poet and Her Encounters with the Founding Fathers, Basic Civitas Books, 2010, p. 5. ISBN 9780465018505
^For example, in the name of the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA in Washington, D.C., where "Phyllis" is etched into the name over its front door (as can be seen in photos Archived September 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine and corresponding text Archived September 15, 2016, at the Wayback Machine for that building's National Register nomination).
^Meehan, Adam; J. L. Bell. "Phillis Wheatley · George Washington's Mount Vernon". George Washington's Mount Vernon. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
^Smith, Hilda L.; Carroll, Berenice A. (2000). Women's Political and Social Thought: An Anthology. Indiana University Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-253-33758-0.
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community provided maintenance. The school was renamed in honor of PhillisWheatley, who was kidnapped in Africa as a child and enslaved in Boston; she...
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