"[An] erudite, enlightening new biography . . . [Waldstreicher''s] interpretations equal Wheatley-s own intentional verse, making it a joy to follow along as he unpacks her words and their arrangement." -Tiya Miles, The Atlantic
"Thoroughly researched, beautifully rendered and cogently argued . . . The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley is [. . .] historical biography at its best." -Kerri Greenidge, The New York Times Book Review (Editors'' Choice)
A paradigm-shattering biography of Phillis Wheatley, whose extraordinary poetry set African American literature at the heart of the American Revolution.
Admired by George Washington, ridiculed by Thomas Jefferson, published in London, and read far and wide, Phillis Wheatley led one of the most extraordinary American lives. Seized in West Africa and forced into slavery as a child, she was sold to a merchant family in Boston, where she became a noted poet at a young age. Mastering the
