Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral

What it is

This is Phillis Wheatley's only published book, a collection of 39 poems printed in London in 1773. Unable to find a publisher in the American colonies, she turned to a London bookseller, Archibald Bell, with help from the Countess of Huntingdon. The book includes a preface, a letter from her enslaver John Wheatley, and an attestation signed by eighteen Boston men, including John Hancock.

Why it matters

Because many white readers doubted an enslaved African woman could write poetry, Wheatley had to prove her authorship before the book could appear. Its publication made her the first African American to publish a book of poetry, opening a path for later Black writers.

Look closer

• Why did Wheatley need famous white men to vouch that she wrote her own poems?
• What does the preface's apologetic tone tell you about how Black authors were treated?
• Why might a London publisher have agreed when Boston publishers would not?