Phillis Wheatley was the first black woman to
write poetry in the United States.
She was born in Africa in 1753. She was taken to Boston on a slave ship at
the age of seven. John Wheatley, a Boston tailor bought her at an auction
and made her a servant for his wife.
Phillis was quickly accepted as a member of the family, and was raised with
the Wheatley’s other two children.
Phillis soon showed her talents by learning to read and write English quickly.
At the age of twelve she was reading Latin and Greek classics, passages from
the Bible, and learning geography, history, and British literature.
At the age of thirteen Phillis began to write poetry and her first published
work, entitled “An elegiac Poem on the Death of George Whitefield”
written in (1770) attracted much attention. Three years later in London as
“Poems on Many Different subjects , Religious and Moral.”It was
the first book published by a black American.
For more information click on the following links:
http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/micro/637/40.html
http://www.wm.edu/Black_Studies/faculty/McLendon/images/wheatley.html
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/chronicle/diversity-phyllisw.html
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