Black History Heritage Profile: Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley
Writer

Phillis Wheatley is considered the first important black woman writer in the United States. She was born in Senegambia, Africa in approximately 1753 and brought to the United States in 1761 in a vessel named “The Phillis.” She became a personal slave of the Boston tailor John Wheatley and his wife Susanna. They recognized Phillis’ intelligence and wit and encouraged her talent and provided her education. Phillis studied Latin and English literature at the age of 12, and was fond of the poetry of Alexander Pope and translated Ovid into heroic couplets. These would have been incredible accomplishments for educated white boys, and unheard of by girls.

Phillis was published in 1773 in the collection Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral and in various magazines. The Revolutionary War and the death of Susanna Wheatley changed Phillis’ life drastically. She was freed and married John Peters, living in poverty and losing three children in infancy. Her writing continued, but without a patron, at least thirty poems were lost before her death at the age of 31. Phillis had the difficult task in her writing of balancing her own feelings with those of her patrons and readers and the Christian God in whom she trusted. She reached out to other artists of color and was an inspiration to many writers.