Meet Phillis Wheatley: Poet and Former Slave

Arriving in Boston aboard a slave ship in 1761, Phillis Wheatley began what would eventually be a storied life in American. Primary sources and a thrilling narrative present 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 London and found a company who published her book and put her photograph on the cover. Although Wheatley died young at age of thirty-one, her words live on and will inspire your readers.