My Name is Phillis Wheatley
| Age of Revolutions |
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 My Name is Phillis Wheatley: A Story of Slavery and Freedom
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American History > Age of Revolutions > African American History
The remarkable story of the young slave Phillis Wheatley, America's first black poet.
Part historical fiction and part informational biography, this novel about the poet's life and times is told in the first person and captures both the struggles and achievements of Wheatley's remarkable life. Starting in Africa before she is captured by slave traders, the book recounts Penda Wane's memories of her family and her early education as a griot, a traditional role passed down in her family. The story moves quickly as she describes the deplorable conditions aboard the slave ship and then being sold to the Wheatley family on the docks of Boston, but the pacing slows noticeably in the second half of the book. The Wheatleys' experiment to see if a slave can be educated begins Phillis's other life, in which she grows to become a well-known poet, both in the colonies and in England. The mounting tensions of the American Revolution and the colonists' desire for freedom provide a backdrop that mirrors Phillis's own yearning for freedom and identity throughout her life. The writing is generally strong and engaging, drawing readers immediately into Wheatley's agonies of being forcibly taken from her home as a child, but the voice is of an adult remembering her youth, and not that of a child telling her story. Pair this book with Kathryn Lasky's A Voice of Her Own (Candlewick, 2003) or Maryann Weidt's Revolutionary Poet (Carolrhoda, 1997) to give a complete picture of this unique individual.—Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA END
Other Similar Books
Other suggestions on the subject of Poets and Writers.
- A Book, Too, Can Be a Star (by: Jones Voiklis, Charlotte, United States, LE, MG)
- My Name is Phillis Wheatley (by: Cooper, Afua, United States, MG)
- Quiet Fire: Emily Dickinson's Life and Poetry (by: Dommermuth-Costa, Carol, United States, UMG, YA)