Phillis Wheatley, the first African American to publish a book of poetry, died in poverty at the age of 31 in Boston. Enslaved as a child and brought from West Africa to America, Wheatley was taught to read and write by her enslavers and quickly impressed with her literary talent. In 1773, at just 20 years old, she published “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral”, becoming a transatlantic literary sensation. Despite her fame, Wheatley struggled financially after gaining her freedom and died alongside her infant child in obscurity — a tragic end for a brilliant mind.
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