Phillis Wheatley

Kidnapped from West Africa and sold as a slave in Boston in 1761, the young girl who became Phillis Wheatley grew up to become an icon during the period of the American Revolution. Given the last name of her owner, Wheatley lived as a household slave but was encouraged to read and write. Readers will get a close-up look at this young African woman who became a celebrated poet of her time, writing elegies, or tributes to people she admired, as well as poems that used the themes of America's struggle for independence.