Phillis Wheatley’s first published work was a poem entitled “On Messrs. Hussey and Coffin,” which appeared on December 21, 1767, in a newspaper called the ''Newport Mercury'':
“Did Fear and Danger so perplex your Mind,As made you fearful of the Whistling Wind?Was it not Boreas knit his angry BrowAgainst you? or did Consideration bow?"
Phillis was most likely able to get this work published thanks to the connections of Susanna and John Wheatley. The poem is a microcosm of her works, combining Christian piety and Classical allusion. This poem also exemplifies a common structure in Phillis Wheatley’s poems, where she talks to those who had died, or the family members she left behind. When addressing the family members of the dead, she usually incorporates religion and tells them not to mourn but to be happy, for their loved one(s) are now in heaven with God. In the following years, Phillis published a number of poems in various publications.
Wheatley’s big break, however, came in the form of her 1770 funeral elegy addressed to the Countess of Huntingdon, on the death of her chaplain, Rev. George Whitefield. This elegy was published in London and Boston and brought Phillis Wheatley considerable fame.
Although influential figures in Boston received Phillis’ work well, it would not be possible for her to have her book of poems published in America. Publication in America was difficult because of widespread doubts that an African slave could have the intellectual capacities to compose poems on her own. Typically, eighteenth-century white Europeans believed that Africans were mentally inferior, as stated by David Hume in 1753 for example, “I am apt to suspect the negroes, and in general all the other species of men to be naturally inferior to the whites. There never was a civilized nation of any other complexion other than white”. As a result of this obtuse racism in this era, no American publisher was willing to print her book. So Susanna Wheatley turned to her friends in England, where black authors were more welcomed and accepted. On May 8, 1773, accompanied by Mary Wheatley’s twin brother Nathaniel, Phillis sailed to England. Phillis began this pilgrimage because fresh sea air had been prescribed for her respiratory problems, but she also utilized this trip to pursue publication of her poetry. The trip was a success, as Phillis was able to get her book, entitled, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral”, published in London. Phillis’ first book came with an attestation at the beginning of it, stating that the work in the following book had been done by a young, enslaved woman. This waiver had been signed by her owner, John Wheatley, and many other prominent New England figures such as the Governor at the time, multiple judges in the court of law and famous American patriot John Hancock. Although Phillis was treated very well while in England, she did not stay long due to the news of Mrs. Wheatley’s declining health.
After her collection of poems was published, Phillis received both praise and criticism from respected figures. Thomas Jefferson famously stated, “Misery is often the parent of the most affecting touches in poetry Religion indeed has produced a Phillis Wheatley; but it could not produce a poet. The compositions published under her name are below dignity of criticism”. Clearly Jefferson was not a fan of Phillis’s work. Others, however defended her against Jefferson’s words, like Gilbert Inlay who wrote, “I should be glad to be informed what white person upon this continent has written more beautiful lines”.In 1775, Phillis Wheatley wrote a poem dedicated to George Washington entitled, “To his Excellency General Washington.”
"Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side,?Thy ev’ry action let the goddess guide.?A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,?With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! be thine.”
This poem shows Wheatley’s uncanny mastery of verse and the English language. It also shows that Phillis was well-educated not only in literary terms but also in political terms. This poem was sent to Washington in 1775, before the declaration of American Independence. It can even be said that Wheatley was one of the first to declare that George Washington was a forefather of our young nation. Even in this poem, Phillis includes religious undertones, such as in lines 7-12, when she speaks of heaven being affected by the struggle in a sorrowful way, and goddesses coming down from the heavens to become involved in the war. When this work was brought to George Washington’s attention, he was so pleased with the poem (although he humbly denied its implications) that he was inclined to meet Phillis and invited her to his home in March of 1776 in order to thank her personally.
