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A biography of the former slave, Phillis Wheatley, who became known as a poet and social commentator. ... Read more

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Heroes became traitors, and slaves became poets as our country marched toward independence. Their fascinating biographies bring this chapter in history to life. ... Read more

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Follows the life of one of America's first black poets from her sale as a child slave on the Boston auction block to her death as an impoverished freedwoman in 1784. ... Read more

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Originally published in 1864. 22 pages. This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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Provides an introduction to the life and biography of Phillis Wheatley, the colonial slave who became one of America's first black poets. ... Read more

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This volume focuses on the principal African-American poets from colonial times through the Harlem Renaissance, paying tribute to a heritage that has long been overlooked. Works covered in this text include poems by Phillis Wheatley, widely recognized as the first volume of poetry published by an African American, as well as the work of Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Countee Cullen, Melvin Beaunorus Tolson.

This title, African-American Poets: Volume I, part of Chelsea House Publishers’ Modern Critical Views series, examines the major works of African-American Poets: Volume I through full-length critical essays by expert literary critics. In addition, this title features a short biography on African-American Poets: Volume I, a chronology of the author’s life, and an introductory essay written by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University. ... Read more

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A brief biography of the slave who learned to read and write, became the second woman in America to have a book published, and won international fame for her poetry. ... Read more

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A biography profiling the life of Phyllis Wheatley, a slave turned writer whose collection of poetry about religion, freedom, people, and America become the first published book by an African-American. Includes source notes and timeline. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A thoughtful introduction to Phillis Wheatley
Robin Doak's book is a thoughtful introduction to Phillis Wheatley, slave and revolutionary poet. Doak traces Wheatley's life from her voyage across the Atlantic to her education, her role in the American Revolution, and her place in history. There is a particularly powerful section describing the horrors of the Middle Passage (the "filth, stench, disease, and death [that] had been in every part of the ship"), and Doak does well to relate Wheatley's poetry - which is really pretty awful - to her religious faith, the people around her (including George Washington, and the American Revolution. The book is also well-written (though Doak has a fondness for the word "amazing"), engaging, and thorough in its coverage. The book's greatest strength is that it encourages young readers to think about complex issues, such as the reception of Wheatley's poetry. Doak writes, "People had many different opinions about her book. Some praised the poet; others praised the poems. Some criticized her and were not particularly impressed with her writing. One person wrote that the poems `display no astonishing powers of genius,' but that they were remarkable because they were written by a black slave." Elsewhere Doak raises the question of "how Americans could still be enslaving people when they were fighting for their own freedom from Britain." In other words, this book can engage kids at a number of different levels. It also has lots of good color pictures and maps, and reproductions of some of Wheatley's writings. My only complaint is that none of Wheatley's poems are reproduced in their entirety. Otherwise, very highly recommended for kids aged 9-12. ... Read more