Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral

Poems on Various

Phillis Wheatley was the first African-American to publish a book of
poetry in 1773. Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at age
seven, and bought by a wealthy Massachusetts family who taught
her to read and write. Her extraordinary literary gifts led to the
publication of her "Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,"
and to her eventual emancipation by her owners. Although some of
the poems demonstrate an apparent acceptance of the racist values
of the white slave-owning classes (which viewed Africans as
savage), Wheatley's considerable talents simultaneously
contradicted these stereotypes. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett)

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Read by Elizabeth Klett. Total running time: 1:52:07

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Poems on Various Subjects, etc.

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