Inspired by Phillis Wheatley
"Born in West Africa and enslaved at just seven years old, Phillis Wheatley later became the first published black American author and second published woman poet. Little is known about her childhood before she was kidnapped and brought to Massachusetts, but once there she was purchased by the prominent Boston Wheatley family. The Wheatley family educated her and she showed herself to be a prodigy, becoming fluent in English, Greek, and Latin in less than two years. She published her first poem at the age of 17 and quickly gained national prominence.
Although they kept her enslaved, the Wheatleys encouraged her writing and pursued publication of her first book in England when it was rejected by a Boston publisher in 1772 based on her race and her politics. Phillis Wheatley supported American patriots in their rebellion against the British monarch, but believed that while slavery continued,it undermined their fight for freedom. At the height of her popularity, Wheatley wrote a poem praising George Washington, with whom she corresponded and later met.
In 1771, Wheatley travelled to London to promote the first edition of her book, but her stay was shortened by the illness of Mrs. Wheatley. She was manumitted shortly before Mrs. Wheatley’s death, but instead of allowing her the full life of freedom she deserved, it presaged a decline into poverty and ill-health. The upheaval of the American Revolution made it impossible for her to publish much of her work, although she continued to write. Her always-delicate health declined, and shedied impoverished and alone.
As tragic as her story is, Phillis Wheatley made great contributions to American literature and to the abolition movement. Her work stood as a monument to the intellectual abilities of people of color, and a reminder that for America to be free, all Americans must be free." (from the brand's website)
Notes: starfruit, raspberry, clementine, stargazer lily, peony, vanilla custard drizzled with caramel
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