Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley

• Born 1753??? Gambia or Senegal?• Died Dec. 5, 1784• Brought from West Africa at about 8 years old• Purchased by John Wheatley in 1761• The Wheatley family discovered that she was

very intelligent and taught her to read and write.• She read Latin and Greek classics,

contemporary English poets.

Phillis Wheatley

• At age 13, she published her 1st poem.• 1773 published Poems on Various Subjects:

Religious and Moral in London. • Published in London – Boston publishers

refused to publish her material.• This is probably the first book ever published by

an African.• Shortly after publishing her book, she returned to

America from London to attend the dying Mrs. Susannah Wheatley – John’s wife.

Phillis Wheatley

• Had she not left England, she would likely have been presented to the court of King George III – celebrity status.

• 1776 Presented to George Washington.

• Freed in 1778 after the death of John Wheatley.

• Married John Peters 1778, one month after John Wheatley’s death.

Phillis Wheatley

• His grocery business went bankrupt, 2 of their children died, and eventually he left her.

• She fell into obscurity, and died giving birth to their 3rd child.

• Her poetry deals solely with New England, the Revolution, Christianity, slavery, etc. We know very little about her life in Africa before coming to America.

• She writes that her only memory of Africa is of her mother pouring water before sunrise.