In 1773, A Young, African American Woman Named Phillis Wheatley Published A Book Of Poetry That Challenged Western Prejudices About African And Female Intellectual Capabilities. Based On Fifteen Years Of Archival Research, The Age Of Phillis, By Award-winning Writer Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Imagines The Life And Times Of Wheatley: Her Childhood In The Gambia, West Africa, Her Life With Her White American Owners, Her Friendship With Obour Tanner, And Her Marriage To The Enigmatic John Peters. Woven Throughout Are Poems About Wheatley's Age—the Era That Encompassed Political, Philosophical, And Religious Upheaval, As Well As The Transatlantic Slave Trade. For The First Time In Verse, Wheatley's Relationship To Black People And Their Individual Mercies Is Foregrounded, And Here We See Her As Not Simply A Racial Or Literary Symbol, But A Human Being Who Lived And Loved While Making Her Indelible Mark On History. Mothering #1 Yaay, Someplace In The Gambia, C. 1753 After The After-birth Is Delivered The Mother Stops Holding Her Breath The Mid-wife Gives What Came Before Her Just-washed Pain Her Insanity Pain An Undeserved Pain A God-given Pain Oh Oh Oh Pain Drum-talking Pain Witnessing Pain Allah A Mother Offers You This Gift Prays You Find It Acceptable Her Living Pain Her Creature Pain Her Pretty-little-baby Pain

Jeffers, Honorée Fanonne, 1967- author

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Wesleyan poetry, Middletown, Connecticut, 2020

United States, United States of America

Mar 03, 2020

US, 2020

Source title: The Age of Phillis (Wesleyan Poetry Series)

213 pages ; 24 cm
"A collection of original poems speaking to the life and times of Phillis Wheatley, a Colonial America-era poet brought to Boston as a slave"--
"In 1773, a young, African American woman named Phillis Wheatley published a book of poetry that challenged Western prejudices about African and female intellectual capabilities. Based on fifteen years of archival research, The Age of Phillis, by award-winning writer Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, imagines the life and times of Wheatley: her childhood in the Gambia, West Africa, her life with her white American owners, her friendship with Obour Tanner, and her marriage to the enigmatic John Peters. Woven throughout are poems about Wheatley's "age"--The era that encompassed political, philosophical, and religious upheaval, as well as the transatlantic slave trade. For the first time in verse, Wheatley's relationship to black people and their individual "mercies" is foregrounded, and here we see her as not simply a racial or literary symbol, but a human being who lived and loved while making her indelible mark on history."--
Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-213)
Prologue : Mother/muse -- Book : Before -- Book : Passage -- Book : After -- Book : Enlightenment -- Book : Awakening -- Muses : Convening -- Book : Voyage -- Book : Love -- Catalog : Revolution -- Book : Liberty -- Epilogue : Daughter/muse -- Looking for Miss Phillis
National Book Award Longlist

In the shadow of the American Revolution, a young, African American woman named Phillis Wheatley published a book of poetry, Poems on various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773). When Wheatley's book appeared, her words would challenge Western prejudices about African and female intellectual capabilities. Her words would astound many and irritate others, but one thing was clear: this young woman was extraordinary. Based on fifteen years of archival research, The Age of Phillis, by award-winning writer Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, imagines the life and times of Wheatley: her childhood with her parents in the Gambia, West Africa, her life with her white American owners, her friendship with Obour Tanner, her marriage to the enigmatic John Peters, and her untimely death at the age of about thirty-three.Woven throughout are poems about Wheatley's "age"—the era that encompassed political, philosophical, and religious upheaval, as well as the transatlantic slave trade. For the first time in verse, Wheatley's relationship to black people and their individual "mercies" is foregrounded, and here we see her as not simply a racial or literary symbol, but a human being who lived and loved while making her indelible mark on history. -- Provided by publisher

"In 1773, a young, African American woman named Phillis Wheatley published a book of poetry that challenged Western prejudices about African and female intellectual capabilities. Based on fifteen years of archival research, The Age of Phillis, by award-winning writer Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, imagines the life and times of Wheatley: her childhood in the Gambia, West Africa, her life with her white American owners, her friendship with Obour Tanner, and her marriage to the enigmatic John Peters. Woven throughout are poems about Wheatley's "age"--The era that encompassed political, philosophical, and religious upheaval, as well as the transatlantic slave trade. For the first time in verse, Wheatley's relationship to black people and their individual "mercies" is foregrounded, and here we see her as not simply a racial or literary symbol, but a human being who lived and loved while making her indelible mark on history."-- Provided by publisher

2023-10-08