The Poems of Phillis Wheatley With Letters and a Memoir

Born in Africa in 1753, Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped at the age of 7 and sold into slavery. At 19, she became the first black American poet to publish a book, on which this volume is based. Wheatley's elegies and odes offer fascinating glimpses into the origins of African-American literary traditions.

The first published African-American poet, Phillis Wheatley (1753-84) was born in West Africa, captured, and sold as a slave to the Wheatley family of Boston. Educated alongside her master's children, Wheatley achieved international renown with her initial poems but slipped into obscurity shortly afterward and died in poverty.

DedicationTo the PublicPrefaceMr. Wheatley's Letter to the Publisher Poems:  To Maecenas  On virtue  On being brought from Africa to America  To the University of Cambridge, in New England  To the Kings's Most Excellent Majesty  On the Death of the Rev. Dr. Sewell  On the Death of the Rev. George Whitfield  On the Death of a Young Lady of five years of age  On the Death of a Young Gentleman  To a Lady, on the Death of her Husband  Goliath of Gath  Thoughts on the Works of Providence  To a Lady, on the Death of three Relationships  To a Clergyman on the Death of his Lady  Hymn of the Morning  Hymn of the Evening  Isaiah-63rd Chap. 1st and 8th Verses  On Recollection  On Imagination  A Funeral Poem on the Death Of C.E., an Infant of twelve months  To Captain H-----D  To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth  Ode to Neptune, on Mrs. W----'s Voyage to England  To a Lady, on her coming to North America with her Son , for the Recovery of her Health  To a Lady, on her remarkable Preservation in a Hurricane, in North Carolina  To a Lady and her Children, on the Death of her Son and their Brother  To a Gentleman and Lady, on the Death of the Lady's Brother and sister, and a Child of the name of Avis, aged one year  On the Death of Dr. Samuel Marshall  To a Gentleman, on his voyage to Great Britain, for the Recovery of his Health  To the Rev. Dr. Thomas Amory, on reading his Sermons on Daily Devotion, in which that Duty is recommended and assisted  On the Death of J.C., an Infant  A Hymn to Humanity  To the Hon. T.H., Esq., on the Death of his Daughter  Niobe in Distress for her Children slain by Apollo  To S.M., a young African Painter, on seeing his Works  To his Honor the Lieutenant Governor, on the Death of his Lady  A Farewell to America  A Rebus  Answer to the Rebus Memoir