Poetry In Conversation: The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), an African poet enslaved by a Boston family, represents a unique voice to bring into our conversations today about America and its values. Published in 1773, her work Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, considers both spiritual and patriotic topics. The writer has been the topic of scholarly reconsiderations, such as historian David Waldstreicher’s The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence (2023). This conversation between Waldstreicher and poet, researcher, and performer Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon was hosted at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania on November 29, 2023. They discussed how we can read these works from someone present at the birth of the United States to better appreciate the complexities of both our nation’s founding and our national struggles today.
Dr. Waldtreicher is a contributing author to HSP's recent publication Two Hundred Years, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1824-2024 (ed. David R. Brigham). His essay focuses on Wheatley's published book of poems as well as a manuscript letter from Wheatley to an abolitionist in HSP's collection.