Phillis Wheatley

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Phillis Wheatley's first book of poetry

Phillis Wheatley's “To the University of Cambridge, in New England”

statue of Phillis Wheatley

How did Phillis Wheatley become a poet?

Read Next

Chapter 4 pg 42 - Chapter header of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Published in 1884 by The American Publishing Company

Periods of American Literature

poem. A poet in a Heian period kimono writes Japanese poetry during the Kamo Kyokusui No En Ancient Festival at Jonan-gu shrine on April 29, 2013 in Kyoto, Japan. Festival of Kyokusui-no Utage orignated in 1,182, party Heian era (794-1192).

World Poetry Day

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Girl Reading On Turquoise Couch

9 American Countercultural Books

Discover

Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd

Causes of the Great Depression

Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).

What Do Eggs Have to Do with Easter?

Nazi Germany, Nazi SS troops marching with victory standards at the Party Day rally in Nuremberg, Germany, 1933. (Schutzstaffel, Nazi Party, Nurnberg)

Why Was Nazi Germany Called the Third Reich?

Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom)

The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church

Shah Jahan. Taj Mahal. Mughal architecture. Emperor Shah Jahan fifth Mughal Emperor (reigned 1628-1658) India, Himachal Pradesh, Basohli or Jammu and Kashmir, Mankot, circa 1690 Drawings; Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper (see notes)

6 Important Mughal Emperors

Currency. Money. Cash. Dollars. Bills. Pile of ten, twenty, fifty, and hundred dollar bills.

6 Questions About the History of Money and Banking Answered

Easter Procession of Maria Santisima del Sacromonte in Granada, Spain. This statue is known as Virgen de los Gitanos or The Virgin of the Gypsies.

What is Holy Week?

Phillis Wheatley: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Born	c.1753 • Senegal?
Died	December 5, 1784 • Boston • Massachusetts
Notable Works	“An Elegiac Poem, on the Death of the Celebrated Divine…George Whitefield” • “Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley” • “On Being Brought from Africa to America” • “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” • “To the University of Cambridge, in New England”

Photos and Videos

Phillis Wheatley's first book of poetry

Phillis Wheatley's “To the University of Cambridge, in New England”

statue of Phillis Wheatley

How did Phillis Wheatley become a poet?

See All Videos and Images →

Alice Walker

Alice Walker

American writer

Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni

American poet

Lucille Clifton

Lucille Clifton

American poet

Haki R. Madhubuti

American author, publisher and educator

Maggie Nelson

Maggie Nelson

American writer

Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo

American author, academic, musician and artist

Dorothea Tanning

Dorothea Tanning

American painter and writer

Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie

American author

N. Scott Momaday

N. Scott Momaday

American author

Merwin, W.S.

W.S. Merwin

American poet

Hildegarde Flanner

American writer

Sandra Cisneros, 2002

Sandra Cisneros

American author

Gary Snyder

American poet

Harriet Monroe

Harriet Monroe

American poet

Pat Mora

Pat Mora

American poet, author, and activist

Ackerman, Diane

Diane Ackerman

American author

Maxine Kumin

American author

Mark Van Doren.

Mark Van Doren

American writer

James Merrill

American poet

Ana Castillo

Ana Castillo

American poet and author

Quiz

Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry

A Study of Poetry

4:043 Dickinson, Emily: A Life of Letters, This is my letter to the world/That never wrote to me; I'll tell you how the Sun Rose/A Ribbon at a time; Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul

Famous Poets and Poetic Form

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) only confirmed photograph of Emily Dickinson. 1978 scan of a Daguerreotype. ca. 1847; in the Amherst College Archives. American poet. See Notes:

Poetry: First Lines

List

Chapter 4 pg 42 - Chapter header of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Published in 1884 by The American Publishing Company

Periods of American Literature