Phillis Wheatley arrived in Boston from her African homeland in July 1761. Though only about seven or eight years old, she was transported with other captives aboard the ship Phillis as part of an ongoing push to make slavery central to the economies, politics, and daily life in North America. Purchased by a New England merchant, John Wheatley, and “given” to his wife Susanna, the young girl found herself far from her West African home, suddenly immersed in a foreign culture where--however benign the Wheatleys themselves may have viewed their relationship to the young girl--she was, in fact, enslaved.
Though we cannot recover much of Phillis Wheatley’s personal or family history prior to what must have been a terrifying transatlantic journey, we do know reasons why she remarkably became, as a young adolescent, a celebrity author, first in her new “home” city of Boston, and, not long afterwards, internationally.
This project honors Phillis Wheatley Peters and her legacies, and spotlights the learning power and the significance of literature in our lives. Through a partnership of the University of Georgia and TCU, this project also celebrates the efficacy of collaborative learning informed by a participatory vision of the humanities and the arts. Our codirectors, contributing team members, and many sponsoring groups and organizations have come together in shared learning throughout the 2023 anniversary year of Wheatley Peters’s Poems. Learn more at the project website.
Time TBD; Texas Christian University, Registration Required
In-person workshop presented by Professor Carmen Kynard (Texas Christian University) and Sarah Ruffing Robbins (Texas Christian University).
5:30pm CT; Texas Christian University
In-person panel presentation. Presenters include: Professor Mona Narain (Texas Christian University), Kelly Franklin (Texas Christian University), Professor Linda K. Hughes (Texas Christian University), Professor Wendy Williams (Texas Christian University), Professor Sarah Ruffing Robbins (Texas Christian University), moderated by Professor Lorraine Sherley (Texas Christian University).
4:30 ET; 3:30 CT
Virtual or in-person presentation by author and professor drea brown (Texas State University), and author Alison Clarke; moderated by Professor Aruni Kashyap (University of Georgia).
Register for this event (Coming Soon).
5:00pm CT; 6:00pm ET
Webinar presented by Professor Sarah Ruffing Robbins (Texas Christian University), Professor Barbara McCaskill (University of Georgia), and Professor Mona Narain (Texas Christian University).
Register for this event (Coming Soon).
6:30pm ET; 5:30pm CT (60 mins)
Virtual or in-person panel presentation at Texas Christian University or the Athens/Clarke County Library in Georgia. Presenters: Joann Wood (literacy expert), Professor Brigitte Fielder (University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Professor Nicole Cooke (University of South Carolina).
Register for this event (Coming Soon).
6:30pm CT (30 mins); Texas Christian University
In-person awards ceremony for DFW Writes Wheatley Peters contest. Presenters: Professor Carmen Kynard (Texas Christian University) and Professor Endia Lindo (Texas Christian University).
7:00pm ET; University of Georgia
In-person staged reading and adaptation of Mary Church Terrell's 1932 "Historical Pageant-Play Based on the Life of Phyllis Wheatley." Hosted by Professor George Contini (University of Georgia) and Professor Sujata Iyengar (University of Georgia).
Online scholarly roundtable with Professor Stacie McCormick (Texas Christian University), Professor Anne Frey (Texas Christian University), and Professor Britt Rusert (University of Massachusettes - Amherst).
Register for this event (Coming Soon).
This edition includes all of the known surviving writings of the poet Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), and are accompanied by an introduction to her life and times, as well as extensive textual and explanatory notes.
Author Vincent Carretta details Wheatley's origins, upbringing, and how she gained her freedom. Carretta also writes about the role Wheatley played in the production, marketing, and distribution of her writing.
Published in London in 1773, this is Phillis Wheatley's first book of poetry.
Level: High School. Imagines the life and times of Wheatley in verse.
Revisits the biography of 18th century poet Phillis Wheatley and reimagines her journey through the Middle Passage to Boston through poetry.
10am ET; 9am CT (90 mins)
Presented by Professor Kim Coles (University of Maryland) and co-convened by Professor Sujata Iyengar (University of Georgia), Professor Miriam Jacobson (University of Georgia), and Librarian Anne Meyers DeVine (University of Georgia).
2pm ET; 1pm CT (90 mins)
Presented by Professor Kim Coles (University of Maryland), Professor David Diamond (University of Georgia), Professor Miriam Jacobson (University of Georgia), Professor Sujata Iyengar (University of Georgia), and Librarian Anne Meyers DeVine (University of Georgia).
4pm ET; 3pm CT
Presented by American Antiquarian Society (AAS) archivists featuring Professor Sarah Robbins (Texas Christian University), Professor Barbara McCaskill (University of Georgia), Ashley Cataldo (AAS), and Elizabeth Watts Pope (AAS).
4:30pm ET; 3:30 CT
A Book Talk by Professor Vincent Carretta in celebration of a new and revised edition of his book, Phillis Wheatley: Biography of a Genius in Bondage.
10am ET; 9am CT (90 minutes)
Featuring panelists Tara Bynum, University of Iowa, Keith Hughes, University of Edinburgh, George Elliott Clarke, University of Toronto, and Lenora Warren, Cornell University, and moderated by John Lowe, University of Georgia.
6pm CT (120 mins)
In-person lecture at Texas Christian University, presented by Professor Mona Narain (Texas Christian University) and Professor Sara Ruffing Robbins (Texas Christian University). Registration is required. Contact h.confessore@tcu.edu to register.
1pm ET; Georgia Museum of Art
In-person gallery tour, co-sponsored by UGA’s Interdisciplinary Modernism/s Workshop and the Georgia Museum of Art, led by Jeffrey Richmond-Moll (Curator of American Art at the Georgia Museum of Art). Upon arrival, guests should check in at the welcome desk in the museum lobby, where the tour will begin. Parking is available in the museum garage (90 Carlton Street) or the nearby Performing Arts Center parking deck.
4pm CT (90 mins); Texas Christian University, Palko 130
In-person panel discussion presented by Professor Ariane Balizet (Girls' Studies - Texas Christian University), Professor Molly Weinburgh (Science Education - Texas Christian University), and Alonzo Smith (Religion and Spirituality Histories - Texas Christian University).
Thought to be the year of Phillis Wheatley’s first writings, motivated by her religious education by Susanna and John.
Potential first writings include:
Stongest candidate: a four-line poem written on the last page of the 1773 diary of the Congregationalist minister, Jeremy Belknap. Belknap identifies the poem as “Phillis Wheatley’s first Effort— A.D. 1765.”
A letter to the Rev. Mr. Occom, the Indian Minister; the missing poem “On the Death of the Rev. Dr. Sewell, when Sick, 1765” included in her 1772 “Proposals.”
Phillis Wheatley wrote “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, the poem for which she is best known today.
Phillis Wheatley baptized on August 18, 1771
Phillis Wheatley and John Peters left Boston and disappeared from public view for several years.
Phillis Wheatley continued to write, with hope of publishing a second book. Her "Propoals" were never published, and few of her other writings were discovered between 1776-1784.
Credits: Phillis Wheatley Historical Society; VIncent Caretta
