How an enslaved child became the first African American to publish a poetry book.

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Born in Africa and sold into slavery in Boston, Phillis Wheatley defied the constraints of her era. By age twelve, she was writing poetry that captivated the Atlantic world. Despite achieving international literary fame, her life after emancipation was defined by profound hardship, poverty, and the struggle for recognition.

Arriving in Boston in 1761 on the slave ship Phillis, the young girl was purchased by John and Susanna Wheatley. Recognizing her exceptional aptitude, the family provided her with an education in history, literature, and religion, a rare opportunity for an enslaved person. By her early teens, she was already composing verse, and her talent soon drew the attention of colonial society.

Faced with a lack of support from local publishers, Wheatley traveled to London in 1773. There, she found acclaim and secured the patronage of the Countess of Huntingdon, who funded the publication of her seminal work, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. This achievement made her the first person of African descent and the first American slave to publish a book of poetry.

Following her manumission, Wheatley’s life became increasingly difficult. The deaths of her benefactors and the instability of the Revolutionary War era left her without the support network necessary to publish a second volume. She married John Peters in 1778, but the couple faced extreme financial distress. Her later years were marked by the loss of her children and a struggle for survival, eventually leading her to work as a maid.

Wheatley died in 1784 at age 31, leaving behind a legacy that remains a subject of ongoing scholarly investigation. While many of her later writings were lost, the rediscovery of several poems in the 1970s and 1980s has helped illuminate her final years. Her work, which spanned biblical themes and the realities of slavery, stands as a testament to a voice that persisted despite immense systemic barriers.

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