At the age of 8, Africa-born Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped and sold into slavery. The property of a wealthy Boston family, she could read and speak English 16 months later. By 14, she had mastered Latin, likely knew Greek, and was familiar with astronomy and math. In 1773, at the age of 20, she published her first book of poetry, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.”
“She was the mother of the African-American literary tradition,” said...
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