African American Studies Commons^™

The Bondage Of Freedom: Phillis Wheatley’S Struggle In Slavery And Emancipation, Alyssa Hunt

Andrews Research Conference

The intellectual influence given to Phillis Wheatley by her white owners allowed for the young slave to cultivate her craft of poetry, which led to her achievement in becoming the first African woman to publish a book. Wheatley’s accomplishments earned her international popularity and eventual freedom from her life as a slave. However, her emancipation proved detrimental for her career as she lost the support and resources needed to publish another book of poetry. Regardless, the poetry she crafted in her short lifetime, and the boundaries she surpassed as an African slave in the 18^thcentury, led to a …