The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) has acquired the largest private collection of items to provide new context and perspective to the life and literary impact of poet Phillis Wheatley Peters (ca. 1753-1784). , including one of the few manuscripts written by the poet’s hand.
Wheatley Peters was born in West Africa and captured by slave traders as a child. She was the first African American woman to publish a volume of poetry with the publication of her Poems on Different Subjects, Religious and Morals in London in 1773. A rare and exciting highlight of this acquisition is a four-page manuscript of a poem, “Ocean,” written in ink in Wheatley Peters’ hand, the only copy in existence today that was unpublished prior to 1998. The poem was probably composed on her return trip from England to America in September 1773.
Six of the 30 objects in this collection were published during her lifetime. Selected objects from the collection can be viewed online via the Searchable museum website. Plans to exhibit these new acquisitions later are in the works. The museum is currently recognizing Wheatley Peters in the exhibition “Paradox of Liberty.” Slavery and freedom Exhibition with a statue and a copy of it Poems on various religious and moral themes.
“Phillis Wheatley Peters’ poems popularized her in abolitionist circles and presented her as evidence of the humanity of people of African descent and the inhumanity of slavery,” said Kevin Young, Andrew W. Mellon director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture . “Scholars continue to analyze her work to determine when and where she resisted slavery; Her poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” is considered a punishment for the slavery of the millions of white Americans who underwent the religious revival movement “The Great Awakening.” This must have piqued Thomas Jefferson’s conscience when he published in 1785 Notes on the State of Virginia rejected the talent of Wheatley Peters, saying it came from religion and religious training rather than intellect.”
Other highlights of the collection include:
- Autograph manuscript of the 70-line dramatic poem “Ocean” by Wheatley, ca. September 1773, four pages.
- An August 1789 issue of the Arminian Magazine includes the 20-line poem “On the Death of a Child, Five Years of Age” and attributes it to “Phillis Wheatly, a negro.”
- A hardcover edition of Pearls From the American Female Poets by Caroline May 1869. The entry for Wheatley Peters covers pages 39 to 41 and contains a biographical note and two poems: “On the Death of a Young Gentleman of Great Promise” and ” Sleep.”
- A hardcover edition of The Poems of Phillis Wheatley, 1909. The red cloth cover shows Wheatley Peters in profile, holding a quill in her right hand.
- A hardcover edition of the book Phillis Wheatley (Phillis Peters): A Critical Attempt and a Bibliography of Her Writings by Charles Frederick Heartman, 1915. Translated from the original German into English.
- Pamphlet published by the Phillis Wheatley Club of Waycross, Georgia, in 1930. It contains a biography of the poet and correspondence between Wheatley Peters and George Washington, including a poem she sent him: “His Excellency General Washington.”
The publication of her poetry by the AME Church and a biography by the Phillis Wheatley Club in the early 20th century are the only works in the collection published by black printers. The biography published by the Phillis Wheatley Club takes on greater significance as it documents the educational work of black clubwomen and the role of black women as historians of black life and culture.
“This collection, spanning the late 18th to early 20th centuries, offers a glimpse into Phillis Wheatley Peters the poet and Wheatley Peters the icon, as well as Wheatley Peters the woman,” said Angela Tate, curator of women History at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “This part of Wheatley Peters’ life has long since disappeared from popular culture and memory. A 1783 poem in this collection is of extreme interest as it is published under her married name Phillis Peters and it is also important to note that she is not depicted as Mrs. John Peters.”
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