Lucy Terry, an African-American woman, wrote “Bars Fight” in 1746, making it the earliest known poem written by an African-American. The poem was inspired by the violent ambush of two families by Native Americans in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Terry was a witness to the aftermath of this event, which deeply influenced her writing. The poem is considered an important historical document, both for its content and for its role in African-American literature history.
Lucy Terry’s work predates much of what we consider early American literature, and it’s a powerful example of African-American voices in colonial times.
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