The publication of Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects was a landmark in history of the Americas. Published in 1773, it marked three significant milestones for the United States: it was one of the first works to be a published by a female poet, the second work to be published by an African American, and one of the first volumes of poetry to be published by anyone from North America.

Modern-day readers may find her poetry inaccessible or perplexing. Wheatley was educated by her owner, John Wheatley of Boston. Her schooling focused on the classics with an emphasis on Latin and Greek verse, and as such her poetry is filled with classical allusions. Her most famous and controversial poem is “On Being Brought from Africa to America”, wherein she appears to celebrate her enslavement and transportation to America as part of God’s salvation. Another famous poem is “To His Excellency General Washington”, where she celebrates the military leader at the start of the Revolutionary War.

Wheatley’s collection of poems provides an insight into African American literature in its early stages. Lucy Terry is the first known African American writer – her ballad “Bars Fight” was written in 1746, but published posthumously in 1854. Jupiter Hammon is considered the first African American writer to be published – his poem, "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries" was published 1761. All three writers were enslaved at the time they wrote. Phillis Wheatley was manumitted by her owners, but her later life was marked by sadness. Her husband was jailed for debt in 1784 and Wheatley died at the age of 31 after descending into poverty.