Engraving
of Phillis Wheatley, c. 1773, used as the frontespiece for her book of
poems, Poems on Various Subjects (London, 1773), the first known
book published by an African American
What attitudes about Wheatley and her poems
are conveyed in this portrait? How do these compare to her initial
reputation in England and America? How do they contrast with her death
in poverty and relatively unknown.
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