Phillis Wheatley was born circa 1753 in the Gambia, named by the slave-owners which bought her for the ship which forcibly took her to the Americas in 1761. She was a remarkable young girl; the family which had bought her educated her after recognizing her potential and within sixteen months of her arrival she was reading Greek and Latin classics in addition to English literature and the Bible. She published her first poem, “On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin,” on 21 December 1767 at the age of 13. After publishing her next poem (often erroneously cited as her first) in 1770—”An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of the Celebrated Divine George Whitefield”—she garnered quite a bit of attention, which then helped her gain the financial support she needed to publish her book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.
I stumbled upon her work through the mobile game Dear Reader, and soon learned that it was the first book written by a Black woman in America, and the second published work of poetry by any woman in the North American colonies. As suggested by the title, it includes poems on all subjects, including one addressed to President George Washington when he was a general, applauding his appointment as leader of the Continental Army:
Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side,
Thy ev’ry action let the Goddess guide.
A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,
With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! Be thine.
Following the publishing of her work, Phillis Wheatley made friends in London, England who eventually saw her emancipated. Though she was never able to publish her second book of poems and died in poverty, working as a servant, her work endured. She came to be frequently cited by abolitionists as an argument against that of Black people’s supposed intellectual inferiority, promoting educational opportunities for African Americans. And that aside, her poems are quite wonderful and stand as works of art even independent of their existing social context. She writes frequently in iambic pentameter and heroic couplets, and uses beautifully evocative language and personification.
Had the soft gliding Streams of Grace been near,
Some favourite Hope their fainting hearts to cheer,
Doubtless the Fear of Danger far had fled:
No more repeated Victory crown their Heads.
Had I the Tongue of a Seraphim, how would I exalt thy Praise; thy Name as Incense to the Heavens should fly, and the Remembrance of thy Goodness to the shoreless Ocean of Beatitude! – Then should the Earth glow with seraphick Ardour.
Society has come a long way since Phillis Wheatley’s work was published, but in many ways the generational trauma inflicted by systemic racism remains a major influencing force on communities at every level up to the international. To discuss race, in policy-making or in art or even around the dinner table, is still relevant and immensely important. Further, it is more important now than ever to uplift and amplify Black voices and creators.
February is Black History Month, but consuming and promoting art by Black creators should not be a February-exclusive activity. Amanda Gorman, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are household names in North America, but there are also many other amazing Black poets whose work you should know about. Phillis Wheatley may have been the first, but she is now one among many. In addition to picking up a copy of Wheatley’s Poems if you get the chance, I’d recommend doing your own research or checking out the list below for some more contemporary recommendations as well!
Black Girl Call Home – Jasmine Mans
Build Yourself A Boat – Camonghne Felix
Bloodstone Cowboy – Kara Jackson
The Poet X – Elizabeth Acevedo