First published 2020
Phillis Wheatley begins her life as a child in the Gambia before the slave trade tears her from West Africa and delivers her to white owners in America. In 1773, she becomes the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry, defying every assumption about what enslaved people could achieve. Jeffers traces Phillis's relationships with the people who shape her world: her bond with fellow poet Obour Tanner, her complex dependence on her owners, and her eventual marriage to the mysterious John Peters. Set against the backdrop of revolutionary America, Phillis navigates a society that views her as both curiosity and commodity. She writes verses that capture the political and religious turmoil of her era while asserting her own humanity. The story reveals how Phillis builds connections within the Black community, finding individual moments of grace amid systemic brutality. This is the portrait of a woman who carved out space for love and art while history tried to reduce her to a symbol.
Genres: american, african-american, biography-memoir, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-figure, overcoming-adversity
Setting: Gambia, West Africa, America
Period: 1773, Revolutionary America
200 pages · Hardcover · Wesleyan University Press
Content warnings: slavery