Phillis Wheatley (and a giveaway) by Nancy J. Farrier

Phillis Wheatley (1753) was captured from her home in West Africa as a child. It is thought she was around seven when she was captured, since she was losing her front teeth. Phillis, (I found no reference to her birth name.) was taken aboard the slave ship, The Phillis, to Boston. She was sickly and unable to work the fields in the West Indies. The Captain feared she would die and sold her for a pittance to Susanna and John Wheatley to be a house slave. 

 

Phillis Wheatley, by After Scipio Moorhead
Wikimedia Commons

After purchasing her, Susanna and John name Phillis after the slave ship and using their last name. Susanna allowed Phillis to join in the school lessons she taught her own children, although Phillis still had domestic chores to do. 

 

In less than two years of studying with the Wheatley children, Phillis had learned not only to read and write, but also learned Latin and Greek. She studied the Bible, geography, history, British literature, and astronomy. She loved John Milton and many of the Greek and Latin classics. 

 

Photo by Cortland V.D. Hubbard
Wikimedia Commons

By the time Phillis was twelve, she began writing poetry. It is hard to figure out what her first poem was, but she wrote a poem, “To the University of Cambridge in New England” that didn’t get published until 1773 but is thought to be her first.

 

The poem that got her national attention was written and published in 1770, An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of the Celebrated Divine, and Eminent Servant of Jesus Christ, the Reverend and Learned George Whitefield. This was her first published poem and brought international acclaim since it was put in a pamphlet and read during the funeral of Whitefield.

 

Phillis put together a book of poems when she was 18. There were 28 poems in the booklet but no American publisher would print them. Mrs. Wheatley wrote to a friend of hers in England. Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon agreed to support publication of the poems. Phillis, accompanied by the Wheatley’s son, traveled to England to see to the publication.

 

Houghton Library
Public Domain

Suffering from severe asthma, Phillis managed the trip but was unable to stay long enough to see her book in print. She and Nathaniel Wheatley had to hurry back to Boston because Susanna was very ill. While they were aboard ship, her book was published, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773). 

 

With the publication of this book, Phillis became the first black woman in America to publish a book. Several of the Boston hierarchy endorsed the book, including John Hancock. The book also included a portrait of Phillis. 

 

Phillis was manumitted in 1774, a few months before Mrs. Wheatley died. Within a short time all the Wheatley family died and Phillis was on her own, a very difficult place for a freed slave to be. She married a free black man, John Peters, who also struggled to find work during hard times. Peters ended up in jail for unpaid bills and Phillis died alone in their small apartment. Her child died within hours of her and they were buried together. 

 

Her favorite form of poetry was the couplet. She often wrote elegies, poems about the death of well-known people. Her techniques are known and studied. Her references to Christianity were found to be comforting.  Below is one of her poems. She has a beautiful style.

 

On Being Brought From Africa to America

'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:
Once I redemption neither sought nor knew.
Some view our sable race with scornful eye,
"Their colour is a diabolic die."
Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain,
May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train.

 

Have you ever read any of Phillis Wheatley’s poetry? Had you heard of her? I enjoyed reading her story, even though it saddened me at the end. I’d love to hear your thoughts about Phillis and her poems and life. 

I have not done a giveaway in a while. Since this is my birthday, I'd love to give away a couple of books. I will give away two digital copies of The Driftwood Cove Collection. These are three contemporary novellas from my Driftwood Cove series. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below with your email address. You must comment before midnight (PT) on July 18th.

Nancy J Farrier is an award-winning, best-selling author who lives in Southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. She loves the Southwest with its interesting historical past. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats and dog, and spend time with her family. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.