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GAM WRIT ERS

Discovery of Gambian Literature and Publications

Wheatley, Phyllis (1753 - 1784)

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Friday, August 15, 2008

Phillis Wheatley is born in 1753. She was sold to Mr and Mrs John Wheatley. Her master named her Phyllis Wheatley. Sixteen months after she arrived in New England, between 1762 and 1763, She was sent to school where she quickly learnt how to read and write English. Every historian knows how difficult conditions were for slaves. Education was almost impossible for many Americans, not mentioning blacks. More over, Phillis was a woman and imagine a female black student excelling in school. She also acquired knowledge in Latin and Theology. In 1772, she published her collection of poems entitled Poems On Various Subjects, Religious And Moral. The publication of the book was welcomed with lots of scepticism. The publisher had to give guarantee to dispel all clouds of doubt surrounding the authenticity of Phyllis Wheatley’s literary work. The Governor Thomas Hutchinson and his deputy Andrew Oliver as well as General Washington sent her letters of felicitations. In 1773, Phyllis Wheatley was invited to England to read her poems and face British literary critics. She was received by the Lord Mayor of London. She died in poverty at the age of 31 in 1784. At that time, there was no country called The Gambia or Senegal. But in her poems Phyllis Wheatley made reference to the River Gambia and Gambia’s beautiful landscape which is a clear indication that she was from a village around this river.

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