Books by Phillis Wheatley

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773) is the first book of poetry published by an African American author. Written while Wheatley was a slave in Boston, the collection was published in England. Regarded for her mastery of classical poetic form, Phillis Wheatley earned praise from Voltaire and George Washington. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral has long been the subject of scholarly work on the history of African American literature, with some critics arguing that Wheatley¿s poems proved detrimental to the struggle of enslaved African Americans. Whether Wheatley made excuses for slavery or, as some have argued, included subtle critiques of the institution in her writing, her talent and importance to the history of African American literature remain undisputed.Despite her status as a slave, Phillis Wheatley seems to have viewed herself as a blessed individual, a woman for whom life itself was a sign of God¿s grace, and in whom talent arose in the form of a foreign language. Many of her poems¿elegies, odes, and monologues¿are aimed at others. Whether in mourning, in praise, or in warning, Wheatley frequently offers her own voice to university students, royalty, God, the muses, and deceased infants. When she does offer glimpses of herself, for instance, in her poem ¿On Being Brought from Africa to America,¿ she provides a complex perspective on her status as a slave: ¿¿Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, / Taught my benighted soul to understand / That there¿s a God, that there¿s a Saviour too.¿ While her words may seem strange to our modern view of the American institution of slavery, they provide an important historical lens onto the adoption of Christianity by African American slaves, who developed a faith grounded in resistance, hope, and redemption.With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Phillis Wheatley¿s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

This moving collection of poems by Phillis Wheatley is intended to inspire Christians and tribute various believers who had recently been deceased.Published in 1773, this collection brings together many of Wheatley's finest writings addressed to figures of the day. She writes evocative verse to academic establishments, military officers and even the King of England, with other verses discussing various subjects in verse form, offering condolences and verse commemorating recent events, or the death of a recent loved one. Recognized as one of the first black poets to be widely appreciated in the Western world, Phillis Wheatley was a devoted Christian whose talent with the English language impressed and awed her peers.Wheatley took plenty of influence from past works of poetry, such as Ovid's Metamorphosis. Several of the poems in this collection mention or allude to such masterpieces, the voracious absorption of which helped Phillis Wheatley to learn and hone her creative abilities.

This moving collection of poems by Phillis Wheatley is intended to inspire Christians and tribute various believers who had recently been deceased.Published in 1773, this collection brings together many of Wheatley's finest writings addressed to figures of the day. She writes evocative verse to academic establishments, military officers and even the King of England, with other verses discussing various subjects in verse form, offering condolences and verse commemorating recent events, or the death of a recent loved one. Recognized as one of the first black poets to be widely appreciated in the Western world, Phillis Wheatley was a devoted Christian whose talent with the English language impressed and awed her peers.Wheatley took plenty of influence from past works of poetry, such as Ovid's Metamorphosis. Several of the poems in this collection mention or allude to such masterpieces, the voracious absorption of which helped Phillis Wheatley to learn and hone her creative abilities.

Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), the first black American to publish a book, was internationally famous during her short life. This edition, with an essay by the editor, restores her to her proper place in America's literary heritage.