Bücher von Phillis Wheatley

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral was the first book of poetry ever published by an African-American author. Phillis Wheatley¿s deep familiarity with Latin literature and Christianity, combined with her African ancestry, provided her with a unique and inimitable view of poetry.She was kidnapped and brought over to America on a ship called The Phillis after which she was named. Her interest in poetry and literature was recognized by the Wheatley family who, though keeping her enslaved, provided her with classic works of literature by authors such as Virgil, Homer, Terence, and Pope, all of whom had a significant influence on her work.She received praise from many of her contemporaries including George Washington, John Hancock, and Voltaire. Shortly after publishing her collection of poetry she was emancipated by the Wheatley family. Even so, her life ended in poverty and obscurity.Though her influence on poetry and African-American literature is indisputable, more modern critics of her work point to the lack of censure of slavery and the absence of discussion about the lives of black people in the United States as an example of the Uncle Tom syndrome.

Als Phillis Wheatley 1773 ihr Buch Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral veröffentlichte, schrieb sie in mehrfacher Hinsicht Geschichte. Sie war die erste afroamerikanische Person, die einen Gedichtband publizierte. Und sie war Sklavin. Wheatleys Weg vom entführten Kind aus Westafrika zur Begründerin der afroamerikanischen Literatur war hindernisreich. Dass eine afroamerikanische Person Gedichte verfassen könne, musste der weißen Leseöffentlichkeit erst einmal bewiesen werden. Und auch die Kritik des publizierten Bandes war von rassistischer Abwertung geprägt - zu ihren größten Kritikern gehörte kein geringerer als Thomas Jefferson. Die Dichterin Wheatley orientiert sich formal am britischen Klassizismus, doch sie spricht mit eigenständiger Stimme und zeigt sich selbstbewusst in ihrer afroamerikanischen Identität. Sie macht sich für die Unabhängigkeit Amerikas von den Briten stark und entlarvt zugleich die Doppelmoral einer Sklavenhaltergesellschaft, die auf Freiheit pocht. Ihre hingebungsvolle Religiosität und Sehnsucht nach Transzendenz erhält im Hinblick auf das Leid der afroamerikanischen Bevölkerung besondere Bedeutung.Im Kanon der US-Literatur ist die Pionierin Wheatley inzwischen längst etabliert. Zum 250. Publikationsjubiläum ihres Gedichtbands wird ihr bahnbrechendes Werk und ihr bewegendes Leben endlich auch dem deutschen Lesepublikum zugänglich.

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773) is the first book of poetry published by an African American author. Written while Wheatley was a slave in Boston, the collection was published in England. Regarded for her mastery of classical poetic form, Phillis Wheatley earned praise from Voltaire and George Washington. Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral has long been the subject of scholarly work on the history of African American literature, with some critics arguing that Wheatley¿s poems proved detrimental to the struggle of enslaved African Americans. Whether Wheatley made excuses for slavery or, as some have argued, included subtle critiques of the institution in her writing, her talent and importance to the history of African American literature remain undisputed.Despite her status as a slave, Phillis Wheatley seems to have viewed herself as a blessed individual, a woman for whom life itself was a sign of God¿s grace, and in whom talent arose in the form of a foreign language. Many of her poems¿elegies, odes, and monologues¿are aimed at others. Whether in mourning, in praise, or in warning, Wheatley frequently offers her own voice to university students, royalty, God, the muses, and deceased infants. When she does offer glimpses of herself, for instance, in her poem ¿On Being Brought from Africa to America,¿ she provides a complex perspective on her status as a slave: ¿¿Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, / Taught my benighted soul to understand / That there¿s a God, that there¿s a Saviour too.¿ While her words may seem strange to our modern view of the American institution of slavery, they provide an important historical lens onto the adoption of Christianity by African American slaves, who developed a faith grounded in resistance, hope, and redemption.With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Phillis Wheatley¿s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1773.Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

Phillis Wheatley was America's first published Black poet. Her poems were published before the Revolutionary War and were recognized throughout the English speaking world. She was born in Africa, sold as a slave in America, and became a celebrity in Europe. In addition to the poems of Phillis Wheatley, this volume contains a short and poignant memoir of her life.

This moving collection of poems by Phillis Wheatley is intended to inspire Christians and tribute various believers who had recently been deceased.Published in 1773, this collection brings together many of Wheatley's finest writings addressed to figures of the day. She writes evocative verse to academic establishments, military officers and even the King of England, with other verses discussing various subjects in verse form, offering condolences and verse commemorating recent events, or the death of a recent loved one. Recognized as one of the first black poets to be widely appreciated in the Western world, Phillis Wheatley was a devoted Christian whose talent with the English language impressed and awed her peers.Wheatley took plenty of influence from past works of poetry, such as Ovid's Metamorphosis. Several of the poems in this collection mention or allude to such masterpieces, the voracious absorption of which helped Phillis Wheatley to learn and hone her creative abilities.

This moving collection of poems by Phillis Wheatley is intended to inspire Christians and tribute various believers who had recently been deceased.Published in 1773, this collection brings together many of Wheatley's finest writings addressed to figures of the day. She writes evocative verse to academic establishments, military officers and even the King of England, with other verses discussing various subjects in verse form, offering condolences and verse commemorating recent events, or the death of a recent loved one. Recognized as one of the first black poets to be widely appreciated in the Western world, Phillis Wheatley was a devoted Christian whose talent with the English language impressed and awed her peers.Wheatley took plenty of influence from past works of poetry, such as Ovid's Metamorphosis. Several of the poems in this collection mention or allude to such masterpieces, the voracious absorption of which helped Phillis Wheatley to learn and hone her creative abilities.

Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), the first black American to publish a book, was internationally famous during her short life. This edition, with an essay by the editor, restores her to her proper place in America's literary heritage.