The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence
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- Create Date：2023-04-03 17:21:27
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：David Waldstreicher
- ISBN：0809098245
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Summary
A paradigm-shattering biography of Phillis Wheatley， whose extraordinary poetry set African American literature at the heart of the American Revolution。
Admired by George Washington， ridiculed by Thomas Jefferson， published in London， and read far and wide， Phillis Wheatley led one of the most extraordinary American lives。 Seized in West Africa and forced into slavery as a child， she was sold to a merchant family in Boston， where she became a noted poet at a young age。 Mastering the Bible， Greek and Latin translations， and the works of Pope and Milton， she composed elegies for local elites， celebrated political events， praised warriors， and used her verse to variously lampoon， question， and assert the injustice of her enslaved condition。 "Can I then but pray / Others may never feel tyrannic sway？" By doing so， she added her voice to a vibrant， multisided conversation about race， slavery， and discontent with British rule; before and after her emancipation， her verses shook up racial etiquette and used familiar forms to create bold new meanings。 Her life demonstrated that the American Revolution both strengthened and limited Black slavery。 Indeed， she helped make it so。
In this new biography， the historian David Waldstreicher offers the deepest account to date of Wheatley's life and works， correcting myths， reconstructing intimate friendships， and deepening our understanding of the revolutionary era。 Throughout The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley， he demonstrates the continued vitality and resonance of a woman who wrote， in a founding gesture of American literature， "Thy Power， O Liberty， makes strong the weak / And （wond'rous instinct） Ethiopians speak。"
Admired by George Washington， ridiculed by Thomas Jefferson， published in London， and read far and wide， Phillis Wheatley led one of the most extraordinary American lives。 Seized in West Africa and forced into slavery as a child， she was sold to a merchant family in Boston， where she became a noted poet at a young age。 Mastering the Bible， Greek and Latin translations， and the works of Pope and Milton， she composed elegies for local elites， celebrated political events， praised warriors， and used her verse to variously lampoon， question， and assert the injustice of her enslaved condition。 "Can I then but pray / Others may never feel tyrannic sway？" By doing so， she added her voice to a vibrant， multisided conversation about race， slavery， and discontent with British rule; before and after her emancipation， her verses shook up racial etiquette and used familiar forms to create bold new meanings。 Her life demonstrated that the American Revolution both strengthened and limited Black slavery。 Indeed， she helped make it so。
In this new biography， the historian David Waldstreicher offers the deepest account to date of Wheatley's life and works， correcting myths， reconstructing intimate friendships， and deepening our understanding of the revolutionary era。 Throughout The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley， he demonstrates the continued vitality and resonance of a woman who wrote， in a founding gesture of American literature， "Thy Power， O Liberty， makes strong the weak / And （wond'rous instinct） Ethiopians speak。"
Reviews
Lynn
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Good Biography The biography of Phillis Wheatley through a lens of the time period， slavery and the War of Independence。 Good insight。
Neil
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My exposure to Phillis Wheatley and her poetry comes mostly from American literature survey classes。 So my knowledge of her life and works is limited。 But David Waldstreicher’s biography really captures her life as a young poet and black slave in colonial Boston。At times the book was too academic for me as my knowledge of ancient Latin and Greek isn’t strong。 （Wheatley had great knowledge on these topics。） But Wheatley’s life， poetry， and early rebel activities made great reading。
Jaksen
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A huge book， any way you look at it。 Dense， heavy， weighty - but it deserves to be！ The story of a seven-year old slave girl sold in Boston， in 1761， to a wealthy family to be raised as a servant to aid/assist the family matriarch as she ages。 Yep， in Boston， one of the major slave-trading cities of its time。 （Though the population was only around 15，000， it was a major commercial and trading center。） Tres important - and highly significant。 For this time period， extraordinary。 Taught to read an A huge book， any way you look at it。 Dense， heavy， weighty - but it deserves to be！ The story of a seven-year old slave girl sold in Boston， in 1761， to a wealthy family to be raised as a servant to aid/assist the family matriarch as she ages。 Yep， in Boston， one of the major slave-trading cities of its time。 （Though the population was only around 15，000， it was a major commercial and trading center。） Tres important - and highly significant。 For this time period， extraordinary。 Taught to read and write by two of the Wheatley's children， Phillis quickly began writing poems。 They were published。 In the five newspapers the small city of Boston supported。 There they were， alongside advertisements of slaves for sale。 Amazing。 I had no idea。。。For all those critical of critical race theory， THIS is critical。 This needs to be taught。 That a young， black， enslaved girl could accomplish so much， one who survived the insidious 'Middle Passage' and arrived in Boston wrapped in a piece of rug。 The background the writer provides of the culture， the beliefs and biases of a mostly-Protestant population， and who knew the whole basis for enslaving anyone was inherently wrong， was eye-opening。 These were pious and devout church-goers who were getting wealthy not only on whale oil and tobacco， but on slaves。 The historical perspective in the books is perfect， though the author makes no excuses for the excuses the prominent citizens of Boston made for owning， trading， and selling human beings。 An aside:When I read a book like this， I try to get into the heads of those involved - what were they thinking， how did they live， what were their needs？ In this case， for me， hard to do， even though I see names throughout the book which I know I'm related to。 My father's family entered the country through Maine in 1630 and many of us - a huge family indeed - still live in the area。 （My maiden name is almost as common as Smith。） At any rate， to think some of my ancestors probably owned slaves？ My mother's family also goes back into the 1600's， so it has to be there somewhere。 So when a book impacts both my thinking - and where I live， so to speak - it's striking。Back to the book: meticulously researched， which in this case wasn't easy。 The writer had to rely on the poems Phillis left - and they are beautiful， insightful， curious， intriguing - and letters and articles others wrote about her。 She wrote elegies， poems about death， and left her mark on early American literature which was considered significant at the time， but then sort of faded until she became a footnote in most American literature anthologies。 She certainly deserves better interest and recognition and I hope this book - weighty as it is - is part of that today。Five stars 。。。more
Book Club of One
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David Waldstreicher's The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence is an illuminating book that details the works of a person many people know about。 Prior to reading this book， I knew the broad outline， that Wheatley had been a slave who gained famed for her talent with poetry and been the first African American poet to have a published book。 Waldstreicher presents a multi pronged work， it is a history， biography and literary analysis。 However， we David Waldstreicher's The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence is an illuminating book that details the works of a person many people know about。 Prior to reading this book， I knew the broad outline， that Wheatley had been a slave who gained famed for her talent with poetry and been the first African American poet to have a published book。 Waldstreicher presents a multi pronged work， it is a history， biography and literary analysis。 However， we are limited by the available source records to the words and thoughts of Wheatley， her 'family' and those of whom she interacted。 Phillis Wheatley was named for the slave ship that brought her to America， her birth name being lost to time。 Much of the rest of her early life is not detailed， Waldstreicher is much more focused on her work and how it was received in pre- and revolutionary era America。 We do learn some details of her home life， but much of the focus is on Wheatley's poems， both those that were signed and those that have been attributed to her based on content， time of publication and a shared commonality of word choice。 While much of her life is not explored， the Phillis Wheatley portrayed here is a very talented writer and a politically savvy operator。 Who she dedicated her poems and who was sent them are just important as the connections she makes to further her career， despite rampant racially motivated disbelief of her capabilities。 Worth a read for any one seeking information about early American literature， American Poetry or the African American experience of Colonial and Revolutionary America。 I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher。 。。。more
Caroline
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I have known OF Phillis Wheatley for a long time but not much ABOUT her， perhaps because rhyming couplets is about my least favorite kind of poetry。 It was the order of the day in the 18th century， though， to be fair。 After reading this book， I still don't enjoy rhyming couplets！ but I have a much better appreciation of the sophistication beneath the ba-dump-ba-dump rhythms and flowery language。The great strength of this book is the way Waldstreicher delves into the social context of Wheatley's I have known OF Phillis Wheatley for a long time but not much ABOUT her， perhaps because rhyming couplets is about my least favorite kind of poetry。 It was the order of the day in the 18th century， though， to be fair。 After reading this book， I still don't enjoy rhyming couplets！ but I have a much better appreciation of the sophistication beneath the ba-dump-ba-dump rhythms and flowery language。The great strength of this book is the way Waldstreicher delves into the social context of Wheatley's work in the Boston of her time。 She lived there during a period of great social ferment， and everything she wrote was calculated in some way to draw upon her knowledge of and position in that society， whether she was trying to hedge her bets with elegies or highlight her experience as an enslaved African person。 Details about various politicians and preachers can get a little exhausting at first， but without this information it's not possible to fully appreciate the nature of her work。With detailed textual study， Waldstreicher has added a number of anonymously published poems to her oeuvre， including my favorite which was a response to a poet who argued against abolition of slavery。 It won't take long before you're nauseated by the repetition of the "we won't be slaves" motif in patriot rhetoric even as the enslaved population of Boston increased。 Although Wheatley was emancipated upon her owner/patroness's death， she did not live to see slavery abolished in her state - and slavery was significant there despite how we'd like to think of the north - there was not the huge slave economy that existed in the southern plantation states， but there were several thousand slaves in Boston at the time of the Tea Party。While I still don't really want to sit down and read pages of rhymed couplets， this book gave me a new respect for the intelligence and savvy of Phillis Wheatley in the context of her life and times。Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book。 。。。more
Kioka Tuck
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Phyllis Wheatley has always been a mystery to me because of my curiosity。 Waldstreicher composed a detailed description of her life and took his readers on a journey of a deeper view of her life and her works。
James Payne
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First， the book is excellent。 There were six newspapers in Boston when only 15，000 people lived there。 And they all published poetry。 On the other hand， much of their revenue likely depended on running advertisements for slave sales。 That may seem tangential， but the context Wheatley comes up in is one where literature is constitutive of life， but that literary superstructure was so entwined with the economic base of slavery as to make it inseparable。 The extraordinary example of Wheatley's work First， the book is excellent。 There were six newspapers in Boston when only 15，000 people lived there。 And they all published poetry。 On the other hand， much of their revenue likely depended on running advertisements for slave sales。 That may seem tangential， but the context Wheatley comes up in is one where literature is constitutive of life， but that literary superstructure was so entwined with the economic base of slavery as to make it inseparable。 The extraordinary example of Wheatley's work at the middle of each tension in revolutionary America is a rare instance of a creative pursuit being able to re-create its creator's lived existence—a "hypersigil" if you're a loser。 The only crit I would have is that due to endless criticism of Wheatley over the centuries driven by overt and covert racism， Waldstreicher seems to feel the need to present each action or thought of Wheatley's in its best possible light， which， to me， is something of a mirror image of the process of dehumanization her reputation has endured previously。 To be perfect is to not be human。 So Wheatley can still feel far away， even after spending 350 pages with her。 。。。more
tpg0
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As an AI language model， I'm incapable of commenting on the quality or content of a book。 However， I can provide you with a brief synopsis of "The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence。" The book is a non-fictional biography of Phillis Wheatley， the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry。 She was born in West Africa， sold into slavery at the age of seven， and brought to America， where she was purchased by a wealthy Boston family that recognized her intelligence and potential。 Despite being in bondage， Wheatley was given the opportunity to learn to read and write， and soon began composing her own poetry。 Her work was eventually published， which made her an international literary sensation。 The book delves deeper into her life， both before and after the publication of her book。 It explores how her experiences as a slave and as a woman of color influenced her work， and how she navigated the political and social landscape of colonial America。 The book has been praised for its insightful and engaging portrayal of Wheatley's life and the historical context in which she lived。
tpg1
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As an AI language model， I am not capable of having opinions， however， according to the book's synopsis， this book depicts the extraordinary life of Phillis Wheatley， an enslaved African-American poet who became one of the best-known literary figures of the American and British Revolutionary era。 It explores the intersections of race， gender， and class， and offers a unique perspective on the history of American slavery and the struggle for independence。 The book seems to be a compelling narrative that brings to light the life of a remarkable woman whose legacy is still relevant today。
tpg2
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