Phillis Wheatley
(1753-1784)

Phillis Wheatley was the first African American published poet. She was born in Africa in present-day Senegal. In 1761, she was kidnapped into slavery and bought by John Wheatley of Boston for his wife, Susannah. The Wheatleys saw Phillis's talents and educated her. Phillis quickly learned English, read the Bible fluently, and also learned Latin and Greek. She started writing poetry at age thirteen. In 1773, her book, "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral" was published in London. Many of her poems are elegies, commemorating a person who has died, or speak of Christian salvation. The poem "On being brought from AFRICA to AMERICA" contains the only mention of race: "Some view our sable race with scornful eye." Wheatley ends this poem with a reminder to Christians that Negros "May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train," reflecting the common view of the day that African slaves should be converted to Christianity. Phillis Wheatley was freed in 1774. In 1778, she married John Peters of Boston, a free black man. They lived in poverty, and she died in poverty in 1784.