Commentary: Essay and Podcast
A letter from a prosperous Boston matron may not seem a surprising or noteworthy exercise of literacy -- until it appears, as Katy Chiles proposes, that the handwriting of the letter likely belongs to Phillis Wheatley. What does it mean if the forced labor of this enslaved poet, now acclaimed as one of the progenitors of African American literature, took dictation from her elderly enslaver?
Download entire essay as PDF
Katy L. Chiles discusses Phyllis Wheatley in this episode of our podcast series, Listening to Hidden Literacies.