Author Description
Honorable Mention, Modern Language Association Prize for a Scholarly Edition, Modern Language AssociationThis edition includes all of the known surviving writings of the poet Phillis Wheatley Peters (1753-1784), several of which have been discovered since the last attempt at a complete edition was published in 2001. Of the fifty-seven poems, as well as their authoritative variants, forty-six were published during her lifetime. Versions of nine of them were published before September 1773. Wheatley Peters published thirty-eight works in Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (London, 1773). Only seven of her poems were published between 1773 and her death in 1784. Eleven poems survive only in manuscript versions. This edition also includes all of Wheatley Peters' extant prose writings: twenty-three letters and four subscription proposals. It includes as well the three known surviving letters written to Wheatley Peters. Wheatley Peters' writings are accompanied by an Introduction to her life and times, as well as extensive textual and explanatory notes.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This volume seeks to provide the most comprehensive and authoritative collection of the extant writings of Phillis Wheatley Peters, the first African American to publish a book of poetry. Vincent Carretta, a scholar specializing in 18th-century literature and the history of the Atlantic world, utilizes extensive archival research to compile all known poems, letters, and subscription proposals. The work serves as a critical resource for understanding the intellectual and social context of Wheatley Peters' life and her contributions to early American and British literature.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A complete collection of fifty-seven poems, including authoritative variants.
- Twenty-three letters and four subscription proposals written by Wheatley Peters.
- Three surviving letters addressed to the poet.
- An extensive introduction detailing the historical and biographical context of the poet's life.
- Detailed textual and explanatory notes for each entry.
Scope Limits
- The collection is limited to surviving documents and does not account for lost or unrecovered manuscripts.
- The analysis focuses primarily on textual accuracy and historical context rather than broad literary theory.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars and critics recognize this edition as the definitive reference for the study of Phillis Wheatley Peters' work due to its rigorous editorial standards. The text is frequently cited in academic circles for its inclusion of newly discovered materials and its meticulous historical annotations.
Page Count:
304
Publication Date:
2024-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0192885294
ISBN-13:
9780192885296
History
Biography
Poetry
African American
Poetry
18th century
Literary Criticism
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