Apr 22, 2008
John LaPine, owner of Printers Row Fine & Rare Books in Chicago, presented a copy of the first book of poetry published by an African American to the Morris Library, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Appearing in 1773, this copy of “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” by Phillis Wheatley is a first printing of the first edition of the first book published by an African American. LaPine characterized the book as, “A spectacular copy of the first literary work ever published by an African American—a landmark in the history of both African American and world literature.”
Born in the Senegal-Gambia region of Africa, Phillis Wheatley came as a slave to Boston in 1761 at the age of 7 as an attendant to the wife of John Wheatley, a prominent tailor. She displayed remarkable language skills, and at the age of 13 she wrote her first poem. She was first published in a Newport, R.I., newspaper in 1767, but no Boston printer would publish her work so Phillis and the Wheatleys sought the assistance of a London printer. In 1773 “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” was published. A subsequent volume was planned, but no copies are known to exist, and she died in 1784.
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Last modified by: Thomas Weissinger on 4/22/08