Short Profile of Phillis Wheatley (1753 -1784)
by Marsha Prescod
 Phillis Wheatley (1753 -1784),
was born in Senegal, West Africa. Her lifestory is
an example of how
genius
can arise even in the most dire circumstances.
Captured and sold into slavery at the age of
7, Wheatley was
brought to America where the Wheatleys of Boston,
Massachusetts purchased her. The child’s
brilliance meant that by the age of 13 she had
not only mastered
English, and studied Greek, Latin and the Bible,
but published her first poem. It was hard enough
for white female writers to have their work published
and acknowleged at that time, let along black
female slaves. The idea of African slaves - thought
of
as little better than animals - having intelligence
and
creativity, was dangerous to the social order
in America and in the other nations that profited
from the Atlantic slave trade . Wheatley had
a
number
of her poems published in Boston newspapers.
Despite famous Americans such as George Washington
recognising
her talents, she ended up having to prove in
a court of law that she had written a collection
of poems.
A group of prominent people which included the
Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the state
of
Massachusetts
examined her and confirmed her authorship. In
the end, she had to be taken to London by the
son of
her owners, in order to get her collection Poems
on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, published
in 1773. Publishers in Boston refused to publish
the book. Pressure from abolotionists and international
recognition of her work led to Wheatley being
granted her freedom. She married a free man,
but was unable
to get a second collection of poems published.
She died in poverty in childbirth, but since
the 19th
century her accomplishments have again become
recognised.
See http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/%7Erbear/wheatley.html for
Poems by Phillis Wheatley
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