Why did Phillis Wheatley disappear? - Charita Gainey
In late 1775, the newly appointed
General George Washington
received a poem from one
of colonial America’s most famous writers.
Its verses praised
the burgeoning revolution,
invoking the goddess of their new nation
to aid the general’s righteous cause.
But this ode to liberty wasn’t written
by some aloof, aristocratic admirer.
Its author was a young Black woman
who’d been enslaved for over a decade.
The young girl, who’d been renamed
Phillis Wheatley,
had arrived in the colonies
on a slave ship in 1761.
The ship landed in Boston,
where Susanna and John Wheatley purchased
Phillis to work in their house.
However, for reasons that remain unclear,
they also taught her to read and write.
Over the following decade,
Wheatley became well versed
in poetry and religious texts,
eventually beginning to produce
her own poems.
The family published her work
in a local newspaper,
and in 1771, her elegy for renowned
reverend George Whitefield
captured the public’s imagination.
The poem’s repetitive rhythms,
dramatic religious references,
and soaring spiritual language
depicted how Whitefield’s sermons
“inflame the soul and captivate the mind.”
Wheatley ends with an arresting image
of life after death,
trusting that divine forces
“will re-animate his dust.”
This moving tribute found an audience
in both the US and England.
And since the piece was published
with a note identifying the author
as an enslaved woman,
many readers were as fascinated
with the poet as they were with the poem.
In 1773, Phillis traveled to London,
where her collection of “Poems
on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral”
became the first book of poetry published
by an African-American woman.
It was filled with profound meditations
on life, death, and religion,
as well as Biblical
and classical references.
In “A Hymn to Humanity,” Wheatley linked
these themes to her own creative growth,
portraying herself as a muse
smiled upon by heavenly bodies.
Unsurprisingly, Wheatley had her critics.
Many white Americans believed
Black people were incapable
of producing intellectual
and creative work.
Thomas Jefferson wrote that her writing
didn't even deserve to be called poetry,
and others dismissed her as a poor
imitation of another well-known poet.
But many readers of the time were
enamored with Wheatley's work,
including prominent European
writers and politicians.
Many modern readers, however,
might expect her work to cover
a different topic: slavery.
Wheatley rarely wrote directly about her
experiences as an enslaved person.
And her poem addressing the topic
has been criticized
for suggesting she was grateful
that enslavement led her to Christianity.
But it’s incredibly unlikely Wheatley
would have been able to publicly condemn
slavery without serious consequences.
And many readers have found a more nuanced
critique hidden within her work.
For example, Wheatley was a vocal
supporter of American independence,
writing that her “love of freedom”
came from early experiences
of being kidnapped into slavery
and separated from her parents.
When disparaging England’s
imperial control,
she evokes imagery of an “iron chain.”
And by comparing her lack of freedom
to America’s lack of independence,
Wheatley subtly laments
her own circumstances.
Thankfully, Wheatley secured her freedom
after returning from London.
The reasons for her emancipation
aren't entirely clear,
as there’s no evidence of the Wheatleys
freeing other enslaved people.
However, since Phillis could have
remained free in London,
some believe she bargained to make
emancipation a condition of her return.
It’s difficult to know exactly
what happened,
both here and throughout the rest
of Wheatley’s life.
Her proposal for a second book
was never published.
In 1778, she married a free
Black man named John Peters.
The two are believed to have had
three children,
all of whom died in infancy.
Their last child is thought to have died
around the same time as Wheatley,
and the two were buried together
in an unmarked grave.
While some of Wheatley’s letters survived,
she never released an account of her life.
So despite her tenure as perhaps
the most famous African on the planet,
Wheatley’s story has been lost
to the ravages of history,
like those of countless other
enslaved peoples.
But her poetry lives on today—
celebrating creative growth
and offering spiritual sustenance.
