The Collected Works of Phillis Wheatley. Dieser Artikel ist nicht verfügbar.The Collected Works of Phillis Wheatley

"This magnificent project will dramatically change the landscape of Afro-American cultural history."--Eric J. Sundquist, The New York Times Book Review

Phillis Wheatley (1753-84) was the first African American to publish a book of poetry. Taking her name from the slave ship, The Phillis, that brought her to Massachusetts and the well-to-do Wheatley family whose property she became, Phillis showed such a natural aptitude for language that her owners eventually granted her her freedom. In 1772, she was summoned to court to defend the ownership of her own words, since many believed it impossible for an African-American slave to write poetry of such high quality. The following year, however, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was published, to great acclaim.