"Guide My Pen": The Poems of Phillis Wheatley

Set against the backdrop of the American Revolution, "Guide My Pen" follows Phillis Wheatley, a freed slave who became one of the earliest published African-American poets. It traces her path from a childhood in Africa to the salons of colonial Boston, where her verses attracted the notice of prominent figures. After she wrote a poem praising General George Washington, she was invited to his camp an extraordinary recognition for a Black woman of her era. Through her poetry and the historical context, the book explores the challenges she faced as a writer in a society constrained by prejudice.