Phillis Wheatley Peters was the first Black woman to publish a collection of poems, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, in 1773. This collection is not only notable for this reason alone but also remarkable in regard to the context of her prose, literary upbringing, connections, and activism embedded within the text. Much of this collection speaks to Wheatley Peter’s classical training in addition to her abolitionist beliefs against enslavement. 

Despite Wheatley’s growing population, many questioned her authorship. On October 8, 1772, a group of “reputable” [white] men gathered and essentially verified her authorship. This was the only way Wheatley Peters was able to find subscribers (a person who pays for the book to be made), so she went to London with the Wheatleys and  Selina Hastings  (a friend of Susannah Wheatley), who funded the production of her book,  Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Oftentimes, in her work, Wheatley Peters incorporated “biblical symbolism” to depict her thoughts/beliefs on enslavement and “her use of art to undermine its practice.” September 1st marks the 250th anniversary of Philis Wheatley Peter’s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Wheatley Peters is one of the most important, prolific writers of the 18th century, and her legacies are a critical contribution to the literary canon today.