One of the best known poets of Revolutionary New England was an enslaved Black girl named Phillis Wheatley, who was only emancipated after she published a book of 39 of her poems in London. Wheatley, who met with Benjamin Franklin and corresponded with George Washington, was the first person of African descent to publish a book in English. Wheatley achieved literary success and helped drive the abolition movement, but she died young and penniless, and many of her poems were lost to history.
Joining me to discuss Phillis Wheatley is Dr. David Waldstreicher, Distinguished Professor of History at the City University of New York Graduate Center and author of The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence.
Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The mid-episode performance is poetry of Phillis Wheatley, read by Laurice Roberts for this podcast; the poems are in the public domain. The music is “Morning Dew” by Julius H. from Pixabay and is used in accordance with the Pixabay Content License. The episode image is a portrait of Phillis Wheatley, possibly painted by Scipio Moorhead, which was used as the frontispiece for her 1773 book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral; the portrait is available via the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution and is in the public domain.
Additional Sources:
“Phillis Wheatley: The unsung Black poet who shaped the US,” by Robin Catalano, BBC Rediscovering America, February 21, 2023.
“How Phillis Wheatley Was Recovered Through History,” by Elizabeth Winkler, The New Yorker, July 30, 2020.
“The Multiple Truths in the Works of the Enslaved Poet Phillis Wheatley,” by drea brown, Smithsonian Magazine, June 24, 2020.
“The Great American Poet Who Was Named After a Slave Ship,” by Tiya Miles, The Atlantic, April 22, 2023.
“Phillis Wheatley: 1753–1784,” Poetry Foundation.
“Phillis Wheatley: Her Life, Poetry, and Legacy,” by Stephanie Sheridan, National Portrait Gallery Face to Face Blog.
Phillis Wheatley Historical Society
“Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,” by Phillis Wheatley, available via Project Gutenberg
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