Story of Phyllis Wheatley: The Poetess of the American Revolution

by Shirley Graham du Bois

Book by Graham, Shirley

Genres: Biography

Paperback

First published June 1, 1949

About the author

One of six children, and the only daughter among them, of an African Methodist Episcopal minister. She moved around often, graduating from Lewis and Clark HS in Spokane, WA in 1915, studied music composition at the Sorbonne in Paris in the 1920s and received her BA at Oberlin College in the 1930s. She had two husbands, including author and activist W.E.B. du Bois. She and du Bois emigrated to Ghana in the 1960s but, after his death, a military coup forced her to move to Cairo, Egypt. In addition to her literature, she also composed a number of musical scores including an opera that premiered in Cleveland, OH, attracting 10,000 people on its opening night.

Married to W.E.B. Du Bois

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, sad, aspiring, and excellently written, The Story of Phillis Wheatley is a book worth reading. So many moments I felt my heart fill with its goodness while other times it felt close to breaking. This life story will surely stay fresh in one's mind even well after having read it—I highly recommend it.

[Debra Pawlak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phillis Wheatley was brought to the colonies as a child on a slave ship. Well-to-do Susannah Wheatley caught sight of the frightened little girl as she stood on an auction block in Boston Harbor. She paid for the child and took her home. Phillis was more or less adopted by the Wheatley family and while she had chores to do, she also was given the chance to learn to read and write. The Wheatleys soon discovered that they had indeed found an unusual child and gave her every opportunity to blossom. Phillis became a poet and traveled to London where she was lauded by the rich and royal alike for her talent. When Susannah Wheatley became seriously ill, Phillis left England and returned to Boston where she once again took up residence at their home. Since the Colonists were fighting a war, they had little time for Phillis and her poems--despite being recognized by George Washington himself. Her life spun out of control once the Wheatleys lost everything, but she remained a free woman. It was an interesting book about a very unique lady, but it lacked detail. I would definitely like to learn more about Phillis Wheatley, but this book served as a good introduction.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, I know a young readers edition . so But it was good Phillis wheatley was a Boston slave girl, poet of the American Revolution who translated Ovid at fifteen, was received in the best drawing rooms of Boston, was entertained in England by the Countess of Huntington and the Lord Mayor of London, and praised by Tom Paine, John Hancock , and |General George Washington. that was on book cover .I had never heard of her before . But what is really amazing is the fact that I liked her poetry and I NEVER LIKE POETRY. her poems were about the events of the time. a pleasant two hour read. You will have to read the book to know the sad ending.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, this felt like a very sanitized version of the story, but still helpful to get the beats of her remarkable life.
Phillis Wheatley is a fascinating historical figure who deserves more credit than she gets. It's great that her poems have been preserved all of this years.

We discuss her in depth over on Howe's Things: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/po...