Phillis Wheatley: Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, and A Memoir of Phillis Wheatley, a Native African and a Slave

Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was the first book of poetry by an African-American author to be published. She was brought to Massachusetts as a slave and sold to the Wheatley family, where she threw herself into education and wrote verse with whatever she had to hand. Despite facing opposition and being interrogated by a panel of respected characters in Boston, her talent became known, and she was recommended to a London publisher. This edition includes the attestation, letter from her master, and notes from the original publishers to present Phillis Wheatley as she should have been read—as a poet, not property.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 128 pages
Publication date: 01 October 2020
Publisher: Renard Press Ltd

In 1773, a significant milestone was achieved when Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral became the inaugural book of poetry authored by an African-American. At the tender age of seven, Phillis was forcibly brought to Massachusetts as a slave and subsequently sold to the affluent Wheatley family. Despite the adversities she faced, Phillis embraced education with unwavering determination. She avidly consumed classical literature and honed her poetic skills, even composing odes using chalk on the walls of her residence. As her talent emerged, a wave of controversy ensued, leading to her interrogation by a distinguished panel of Boston's most esteemed individuals in 1772. They demanded that she defend the ownership of her own words, as many believed it to be an extraordinary feat for an African-American slave to produce such exceptional poetry.

According to the recollections documented in the 1834 memoir by a fervent advocate for antislavery, B.B. Thatcher, also included in this volume, the path to publication was not straightforward. It became evident that such a volume could not be published in America at that time. However, Phillis was recommended to a London publisher, who took up the publication of her work. Although the book was released with an attestation affirming her authorship, along with a letter from her master and a brief preface requesting the reader's indulgence, it is important to note that this edition includes the attestation, the letter from her master, and notes from the original publishers as an appendix. This allows the twenty-first-century reader to encounter Phillis Wheatley as she truly deserves to be perceived—as a poet, rather than merely a property.

Weight: 146g
Dimension: 129 x 197 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781913724146