Phillis Wheatley-Peters was kidnapped as a child from West Africa and sold into slavery in Boston. Despite systemic oppression and powerful politicians like Thomas Jefferson questioning her intelligence, she became the first African American – and one of the first women – in the U.S. to publish a book of poetry.
Her education and literary talent not only shattered racist assumptions of Black intellectual inferiority at the time, but she also laid the foundation for Black literature, activism and thought.
Early life, education, and the discovery of her talent
Wheatley was born in 1753 in the region of West Africa that is now Senegal and Gambia. As a young girl, she was kidnapped and taken to Boston, Massachusetts, on a slave vessel called “Phillis.” John and Susanna Wheatley bought her and named her after the ship.
Unlike many people enslaved in the United States, the Wheatleys gave her the tools to learn reading and writing. By the age of nine, she had quickly mastered English and became well-versed in classical literature, the Bible, and Latin poetry, which influenced her writing.
She began writing poetry at 12 and composed her first published poem at age 13.
Rise to literary fame
In 1767, Wheatley’s first poem, “On Messrs Hussey and Coffin,” was published in the Newport Mercury newspaper. She continued to write poetry that gained attention in Boston’s literary circles.
Wheatley wrote on themes of faith, morality, and the struggles of the oppressed using classical styles that appealed to White American audiences. According to Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, English professor at the University of Oklahoma and author of the NAACP Image Award-winning book The Age of Phillis, she seldom wrote about her own life in her poems.
Despite her poems receiving recognition by prominent figures, Wheatley often had to defend her authorship. Many colonists found it difficult to believe that an enslaved African was capable of writing “excellent” poetry.
In 1772, a group of 18 prominent White men in Boston, including John Hancock and Thomas Hutchinson, the governor of Massachusetts, took her poems to court, where she had to defend her ownership of them.
After questioning her extensively, the court verified that she was indeed the author of her work. The jury’s signed attestation became the preface to her first book, proving that Black intellectual property could not be denied.
Publication of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral
Wheatley could not find an American publisher for her first book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, so the Wheatley family sought publication in London.
With support from Selina Hastings, the Countess of Huntingdon and other British abolitionists, she secured a publisher. This led to the release of her first book of poetry in 1773.
This book made Wheatley the first African American and one of the first women in the United States to publish a book of poetry. This book included powerful poems about faith, freedom, and the injustices of slavery, infused with influences from the Enlightenment and Christian values.
Gaining acclaim
After the publication of her first book, Wheatley’s poetry reached England, America and beyond, earning praise from scholars, abolistionists and political leaders.
She received recognition from George Washington, who wrote to her after she dedicated a poem to him titled To His Excellency, George Washington. Washington acknowledged her “great poetical Talents” in a letter to her in 1776.
Abolitionists used her success as proof of Black intelligence and humanity, countering pro-slavery arguments.
Laying the foundation for Black literature, activism and the “griot”
Beyond her poetry, Wheatley’s work established a precedent for Black literary resistance and resilience. Her writings provided a blueprint for future generations of Black poets, activists and intellectuals to challenge racial oppression and advocate for justice through literature.
Her success as a Black poet enslaved in the U.S. became a powerful tool for abolitionists across the country and Europe. Writers like Frederick Douglass and Olaudah Equiano followed in her footsteps, using literature to combat racial injustice.
Wheatley’s poetry set the stage for generations of Black women authors, including Zora Neale Hurston, Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison.
Her influence extended to movements like the Harlem Renaissance. Black poets and thinkers, such as Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen, would debate about her work while drawing inspiration from her legacy.
Wheatley showed that literature could be a means of advocating for freedom, dignity, and equality, setting the stage for generations of Black artists who would use their work as a form of resistance and empowerment.
Challenges and later life
Despite her literary success, Phillis Wheatley faced numerous challenges in her later years. She was granted freedom after the publication of her book in 1774 but struggled financially.
Jeffers in her recounting of Phillis Wheatley’s life, talks about how Wheatley married John Peters, a free Black man, but they faced severe economic hardships.
The post-Revolutionary period offered limited opportunities for Black women, and she could not secure a publisher for her second poetry collection.
Wheatley died in poverty at the age of 31 in 1784, leaving behind an unfinished legacy.
A foundational legacy
As the first published African American poet, Phillis Wheatley-Peters paved the way for future Black writers to express themselves through literature and activism art.
Wheatley’s legacy resonates in today’s discussions about race, literature, and freedom. She demonstrated that even in the face of unimaginable oppression, Black voices will rise, create and inspire.
Her work showed that literature can be a powerful tool for challenging oppression, advocating for freedom, and inspiring future generations of Black writers and thinkers. She demonstrated that Black voices not only belong in literature but also have the power to shape cultural and political discourse.
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