"A paradigm-shattering biography of Phillis Wheatley, whose poetry was at the heart of the American Revolution"-- "Admired by George Washington, ridiculed by Thomas Jefferson, published in London, and read far and wide, Phillis Wheatley led one of the most extraordinary American lives. Seized in West Africa and forced into slavery as a child, she was sold to a merchant family in Boston, where she became a noted poet at a young age. Mastering the...

"Arriving in Boston aboard a slave ship in 1761, Phillis Wheatley began what would eventually be a storied life in American. Primary sources bring to life the story of America's first African American female poet. Easy-to-read text highlights how Wheatley learned to speak English and to read and write. She even learned to read Latin. Soon she was writing poetry, but no one in Boston would publish her book because she was a slave. She had to look to...

Taken from her family in Africa at the age of seven, Phillis Wheatley arrived in Boston as a slave in 1761. After she was purchased by the Wheatley family, Phillis quickly learned to speak and read English. The bright young girl soon began writing poetry. By 1771, her poems had been published in newspapers all over the colonies, and critics were praising the "extraordinary negro poetess." In this engaging biography, author Maryann Weidt tells the...

The story of a young girl, bought as a slave by a Boston family, who learned to write and later became a poet.

Introduce your students to the life of Phillis Wheatley, the first African American to have a book published in the United States. Students will explore the author's early years in the colonies where she learned to read and write. This intriguing nonfiction reader breathes life into the pages of history with primary source documents, featuring images of how life was like during America's early years. Build literacy and subject content knowledge with...

A biography of an African girl brought to New England as a slave in 1761 who became famous on both sides of the Atlantic as the first Black poet in America.

Gates (African-American studies, humanities, Harvard U.) discusses the achievements of Wheatley (1753-84), America's first black poet; Jefferson's harsh critique of her ability in the context of slavery; and her less than stellar reputation among African- Americans. Based on a 2002 Library of Congress lecture.

Provides a close-up look at this young African woman who became a celebrated poet of her time, writing elegies, or tributes to people she admired, as well as poems that used the themes of America's struggle for independence.