In September 1773, Phillis Wheatley, a young enslaved woman from Boston, boarded a ship home from London, where she had gone to promote her forthcoming book of poems — the first ever published by an American of African descent.
It was not the first time Wheatley had sailed to Boston.
But on this second voyage, Phillis — now a literary celebrity — picked up a pen and wrote “Ocean,” a 70-line ode full of dreaming, wonder and longing for freedom.
“Ocean” went unpublished and was seemingly lost until 1998, when the manuscript surfaced at an auction.
Now it has been acquired by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, as part of what the museum says will be the largest collection of Wheatley material in public hands.
Persons:
Phillis Wheatley, Wheatley, Phillis —, —, ”
Organizations:
Smithsonian’s National Museum of
Locations:
Boston, London, Africa