Phillis Wheatley 
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral 

Poetry can inspire, evoke, provoke and transport the reader. But this collection of 39 poems did even more – it broke barriers. This collection was written by Phillis Wheatley, the first African-American woman whose poetry writings were published. Seized from West Africa as a young girl, Phillis lived in Boston as a slave to the prominent Wheatley family where she learned to read and write, as well as undertaking lessons in the Bible, astronomy, geography, history and British, Greek and Latin Literature. By the age of 18, Phillis had amassed a decent quantity of poems and together with the Wheatley family, sought out a publisher. However, based on racial prejudices, Phillis was received with disdain in the United States. Attention was turned to London instead, where Phillis posted one of her poems, ‘On the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield’, to Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon and a well-off supporter of the abolitionist cause, who connected her with a bookseller although Wheatley still had to go through interrogation to prove that she was the author of her own work.This collection of poems shows the breadth and depth of her reading, and includes poems reflecting her Christian faith, her interest in Greek mythology and her admiration for well-known figures including Alexander Pope.’Poems on Various Subjects’ is perfect for people who have read ‘The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano’.-