Revolutionary Poet: A Story About Phillis Wheatley (Creative Minds Biography)

Weidt, Maryann N.

ISBN 10: 1575050374 ISBN 13: 9781575050379

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books, 1997

Synopsis

Recounts how a young slave girl in revolutionary Boston became a renowned poet

About this title

About the Author:

No Bio

No Bio

From Booklist:

Gr. 3^-6. When Phillis Wheatley arrived in Boston as a slave girl in 1761, no one could imagine that she would go on to become an internationally known poet--and the first black American ever to publish a book. From her first days in the Wheatley household, Phillis was encouraged to learn to speak and read English, and, most importantly, to write. She soon began to compose poems--though, sadly, none of her poems is included here in full--and at the age of 17, only 10 years after her arrival in America, Phillis had begun publishing in the colony newspapers. Weidt's biography in the Creative Minds series provides excellent historical background, explaining in simple, well-written text the concept of slavery and the political conflicts leading up to the Revolutionary War. However, the fact that Wheatley's circumstances were extraordinary compared to the lives of most slaves at the time is not emphasized nor given proper context. Also, the author has a tendency to offer conjecture to compensate for gaps in the known details of Wheatley's life. But, overall, the biography provides a welcome introduction to her life and accomplishments. Bibliography. Shelle Rosenfeld

About this edition

• Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1575050374
• ISBN 13: 9781575050379
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 64
• Illustrator: Young Mary O'Keefe