The Lives, Writings and Legacies of Phillis Wheatley Peters

Rethinks the life, writings and legacies of Phillis Wheatley Peters in a global context from the eighteenth century to the contemporary period.

This volume focuses on the legacy and relevance of poet Phillis Wheatley Peters in biography, literary criticism and public humanities scholarship. Contributors draw from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century manuscripts, editions and broadsides, and twentieth- and twenty-first century memorials, literary works and print and online exhibits, as well as community programming. Major themes are community and collaboration, Wheatley’s transatlantic travels and alliances, her contributions to global Black print culture and how her memory and art have animated individual and collective expressions of sisterhood, African Diasporic culture and joy. Contributors address omissions, silences and gaps in her life and poetry through plausible, authentic re-imaginings of her marriage, childhood, interactions with white patrons and affiliations with African American and Afro-British abolitionists and friends.