by Kandiss Edwards
January 4, 2026
Phillis Wheatley is the primary printed African-American poet.
The U.S. Postal Service will honor Phillis Wheatley, the primary printed African-American poet, with the forty ninth Black Heritage Stamp, persevering with a decades-long collection recognizing Black contributions to American historical past.
The stamp, a part of the Postal Service’s Black Heritage collection that started in 1978, will function a portrait of Wheatley. It should commemorate her function as a pioneering Black literary determine whose work turned identified internationally within the 18th century.
In keeping with the Postal Service, the brand new stamp is meant to acknowledge Wheatley’s “enduring legacy and her function as a trailblazing voice in literature.” The company stated her inclusion displays the collection’ mission to honor people whose contributions formed the nation’s cultural and mental life.
Wheatley was born in West Africa and dropped at Boston as an enslaved baby within the early 1760s. She was educated by her enslavers, the Wheatley household. Early in her life, she demonstrated extraordinary literary expertise, which led to a global profession. In 1773, she printed “Poems on Varied Topics, Spiritual and Ethical,” turning into the primary African-American lady to publish a guide of poetry. The quantity was printed in London and obtained consideration from readers in each Europe and the American colonies.
Literary historians have lengthy famous Wheatley’s significance in early American literature by including her work to scholarly cannon. The Library of Congress describes Wheatley as “a serious determine within the early historical past of African American literature,” noting that her work challenged prevailing assumptions about race, mind and inventive capability in the course of the colonial interval.
Regardless of her acclaim, Wheatley’s life after publication was marked by wrestle. She was free of slavery however struggled financially and died in 1784 at about age 31. Students have since reassessed her poetry and historic significance, inserting her among the many foundational voices of American literature.
The Black Heritage Stamp collection has beforehand honored figures equivalent to Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Toni Morrison. The ceremony will happen Jan. 29 11 a.m. EST on the Previous South Assembly Home in Washington.
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