October 18 – Poet Phillis Wheatley Freed (?)

nPostednon October 18, 2013

It’snstrange to think of a slave being a famous, published poet! ButnPhillis Wheatley managed to transcend her short, difficult life bynwriting poetry.

nAsnis usual for slaves, we aren’t sure exactly when and where Wheatleynwas born – but we do know that her name wasn’t Phillis Wheatleynthen! She was probably born in Senegal or Gambia, in Western Africa,nin 1753. She was sold into slavery when she was around seven yearsnold, and she was sent to Boston, Massachusetts, then a Britishncolony.

nThe Wheatley family bought her (isn’t THAT a dreadfulnsentence!); unlike many other slave owners, they taught her to readnand write. She mastered Greek and Latin as well as English, and afternshe studied poetry, she began to write some of her own. When hernmasters saw some of her poetry, they encouraged her to write more.

nHerncollection of poems was published in 1773, and she was praised bynpeople such as African American poet JupiternHammon. When she wrote a poem celebrating George Washington, heninvited her to his house to thank her, and Thomas Paine published that poem in a newspaper for all to read and enjoy.

Apparently,nWheatley tended to write poems about famous people of the time asnwell as religious, classical, and abstract themes. She wrote littlenabout her own life, and she wrote little about slavery as an idea ornpractice. As a matter of fact, some people consider some ofnWheatley’s rare mentions of slavery to be praise for the institution,nbecause she seemed grateful that slavery brought her into contact withnChristianity! However, at least one of Wheatley’s poems refers tonslavery as a cruel fate.

nAsnwe read Wheatley’s words about slavery, we must remember that she hadnhad a unique slave experience. Her family had been surprisingly kindnto her to give her an education that wasn’t just unusual for a slave,nbut unusual even for a white woman! The family not only promoted her poetry, andnsought a publisher that would print it, they even sent her tonEngland to receive treatment for a medical problem. n

nManynwhite colonists found it hard to believe that an African slave couldnwrite excellent poetry, and Phillis Wheatley went to court, to benexamined by several learned white men, to prove that she wrote thenpoems. After discussing poetry and some pretty scholarly ideas, thenlearned men wrote and signed a note stating that she had, indeed,nauthored the volume. n

I have read many different reports about the sad end to the Wheatley family and the emancipation (freeing) of Phillis. Various researchers have concluded that Phillis Wheatley was freed onnthis date, or that date, or maybe on this other date. I cannot bencertain of the facts, but one account states that Mrs.nWheatley died on this date in 1773, and that Phillis was relieved of allnhousehold duties and encouraged to concentrate on studying andnwriting at that time. Some reports state that she was freed on 10/18/1773, but others report that it wasn’t until Mr. Wheatley’s death in 1778 that she was legally freednthrough the terms of his will. Shortly after his death, thenWheatley’s daughter Mary died; she had been Phillis’s original tutor.nSaddened by her family’s sudden rash of deaths, Phillis married anfree black man named John Peters. The two struggled to earn enoughnmoney to purchase food, even, and all three ofntheir children died as young babies. Phillis herself had become anscullery maid in an effort to survive, and she died at age 31.

nTragic!nHowever, we can be very glad that Phillis Wheatley achieved a sort ofnimmortality through her poems!

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