Free digital classic
Poems on various subjects, religious and moral
by Wheatley, Phillis
About this book
Creators: Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784) "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral" by Phillis Wheatley is a collection of 39 poems published in 1773. This groundbreaking work made Wheatley the first published African-American woman poet in America. Unable to find a publisher in the American colonies due to widespread beliefs about racial inferiority, Wheatley turned to London. Before publication, she faced an extraordinary examination by eighteen prominent Boston figures, including John Hancock, who attested that an enslaved woman could indeed write poetry. Her collection arrived in Boston aboard the Dartmouth, miraculously surviving the Tea Party protests. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading Level: Reading ease score: 73.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. Rights: Public domain in the USA. Downloads: 2230