Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (AmazonClassics Edition)

One of the best-known poets of the Revolutionary War era, Phillis Wheatley made history with this collection, which was the first such work to be published from an African American woman. Celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic, Wheatley found admirers in the likes of Voltaire, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and John Paul Jones.

Often working in odes and elegies, and employing the heroic couplets of the poets she admired, Wheatley wrote on the themes of perseverance, redemption, and spiritual liberation, which resonated deeply with readers of the time. And although Wheatley may not have been fully at liberty to express her true thoughts on the institution of slavery, which has since generated some controversy among more recent readers, her talent and impact remain undisputed. Phillis Wheatley is recognized today as “the mother of the African-American literary tradition” (the New Yorker).

Revised edition: Previously published as Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, this edition of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.