Illustration of a woman wearing a bonnet and writing with a quill at a desk

Phillis Wheatley

(c. 1753 - 1784)

Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped by slave traders in 1761 and taken by ship to Boston, where she was bought by a tailor. After mastering English, she learned Greek and Latin, translating a tale by Ovid, a feat that shocked local scholars. Her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was published in 1773; shortly thereafter, she was awarded her freedom.

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Voices In Time

1774 | Boston

Deliverance

Phillis Wheatley is impatient of oppression.More

In every human breast, God has implanted a principle, which we call love of freedom; it is impatient of oppression and pants for deliverance.

—Phillis Wheatley, 1774

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