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The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence

byDavid Waldstreicher

David Waldstreicher restores Phillis Wheatley to the center of Revolutionary America as a poet, political thinker, and international literary figure. Following her forced journey from West Africa to Boston and her rise as the first African American woman to publish a book, he reads Wheatley's verse alongside correspondence, newspapers, and contemporary debates. The biography challenges myths that have obscured her agency, showing how she used classical learning, Christianity, and poetry to address slavery, liberty, empire, and the unfinished meaning of American independence.

Publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Publication date

2023-03-07

Format

Hardcover

Pages

496

ISBN

9780809098248