Talk:Phillis Wheatley

message: Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal and sold in Boston age 7. How did she get to Boston? Caught by a local chief's war party and sold, or what? Some detail about her early life would be welcome. 71.202.17.218 (talk) 05:20, 15 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Origins 

message: Contrary to the first sentence, Wheatley was not the first African American woman to publish poetry in the United States.  As another Wikipedia article recognizes, that was Lucy Terry.  The introduction needs rewriting.  Jlockard 08:12, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Based on what you said, Wheatley was still the first to be "published." That's what the article says.--Alabamaboy 15:08, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Correction Needed 

message: I lived in Senegal for quite some time.  I am wondering, what was her real name?  It could have been Fatima, Ouley, Aby...  It also strikes me that she should be considered the first African American poet... when in fact she was not an African American, but a transplanted Senegalese.  Senegal has produced many great intellects, pre and post-colonialisation.  So that Wheatley (or whatever her real name was) was able to adapt western knowledge and build upon it, isn't really that surprising, or even note worthy.Gdxilla 18:44, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Her Real Name 

message: The poem Wheatley wrote in 1770 that began her fame was a poem to George Whitefield after his death, not a poetic tribute to George Washington. 
In 1770 Wheatley wrote a poetic tribute to George Washington that received widespread acclaim. 
She later wrote a poem in 1776 to Washington, but this was not the one that began her widespread acclaim as previously stated in this article. Correction made. Steviedpeele 20:36, 28 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  George Washington  

message: A large portion of the "References" section seems to consist of external links instead.  Indeed, there aren't any footnote-style references at all on the page, which is what I usually see "References" listed as.  I'm moving the links that are clearly not "references" into a section titled External Links.  If anybody wants to go in and figure out more thoroughly which is which, please do. TheStripèdOne 17:07, 28 September 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  References and External Links 

message: The "Phyllis Wheatley" page says she was manumitted on 18 October 1773, but the "OCtober 18" page says she was manumitted in 1775.  Which is correct?  Esaons 14:48, 18 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Phyllis Wheatley's Manumission 

message: In some sources she is called Philis Wheatley (Peters) or sometimes just Wheatley Peters. --CopperKettle 14:39, 7 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Peters

message: why did alot of people forget about her after she died? did they not really care about her alot when she was alive? was the only reason people remebered her was because she was the first black poet and they were astonished?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.204.34.245 (talk) 00:37, 18 February 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  WHY DID WE FORGET THE DEAD 

message: In the 'Later Life' section, it says that she was freed from slavery in 1773 after her visit to London.  Later, it says that she was freed in 1778 when John Wheatley died.  Clarification would be a good idea. Noghiri (talk) 18:58, 24 May 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Possible Inconsistencies and confusion 

message: This article was discussed in an online article by Newshounds.us —TheDJ (talk • contribs) 23:26, 8 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mentioned by newshounds.us 

message: question about this line in early life section
'She was purchased in Boston by John Wheatley, one of the most progressive figures of the colony'
Is there any citations or evidence of John Wheatley having been progressive? especially of him having been 'one of the most progressive figures of the colony?' I would think that the great progressives of the colony have all been heavily recorded in history, I cant seem to find out much about John Wheatley in any other context other than his purchasing a little girl and teaching her to read. Since a good number of slaves were taught to read and write if the skills were necessary for thier use, and as a house slave and companion slave, Phillis would need the skills to handle her mistress' correspondence. i dont know if that qualifies him as a progressive. Slavery was abolished in Boston very shortly after Phillis' multiple episodes of 'manumission' so it would seem John Wheatley continued the purchasing of people long after it was the norm. HEr purchase certainly happened at a time when abolition was being spoken of and the idea of slavery was being actively questioned. Boston in fact, became a free state in 1783 a full year BEFORE Phillis' death. She was among the very last generation of boston slaves purchased. Unless there is evidence of Mr. Wheatley being a progressive in other matters, I think that the description of him needs removal. I have searched and can find nothing.
The fact that she was allowed to aquire more knowledge than was necessary for her duties was certainly unusual, but it was exceedingly unusual to purchase a child. And her status as a precocious child and the novelty of her learning so quickly is undoubtably what led the Wheatleys to continue to teach her. Not a progressive nature among the family.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.55.180.8 (talk) 03:59, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  early life 

message: Though I agree with eliminating unsourced claims (changes done by anonymous on Nov. 26 2015), I think the section mentioning Hammon's poem is too bare and explains nothing about it. Someone knowledgeable or interested in researching this topic could make this article stronger by improving this section.
Sorry, I did not signed my previous comments. Historiador (talk) 14:27, 26 November 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: Added. Icarus of old (talk) 15:23, 26 November 2015 (UTC)
replies: text:  Thanks. I linked the citation to an universally accessible file I found and changed the text to reflect a neutral POV in reference to "pagan." It is also how the author of the article you cited worded it. Again, thanks. Historiador (talk) 16:05, 26 November 2015 (UTC)
thread_title: Hammon's poem to Wheatley

message: Substituted at 02:52, 30 April 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: Assessment comment

message: The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:
* 
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 14:37, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion 

message: “A Perspective on Indexing Slaves’ Names” (pdf), by David E. Patterson, in the American Archivist. https://www.americanarchivist.org/doi/pdf/10.17723/aarc.64.1.th18g8t6282h4283
98.243.51.84 (talk) 18:06, 18 April 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm adding this. Good source. deisenbe (talk) 19:19, 23 July 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  citation for "citation needed" re slave surnames 

message: Readers, is Wheatley an African American? I think she is. If not, what is she? African-Massachusetts colony? An African, instead of African American, in London? What do others think? deisenbe (talk) 16:25, 18 August 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  African American 

message: In 2019  John Muehleisen composed the SATB choral work "Imagination! Who Can Sing Thy Force?" using the Phillis Wheatley poem "On Imagination" as its text.  Its world-premiere was June 12, 2022 performed by the Donald Brinegar Singers, Pasadena, California.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Elisheva29 (talk • contribs) 20:22, 12 June 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Musical Compositions related to Phillis Wheatley's works 

message: Recently a list of Phillis Wheatley's works was removed from this article,
apparently a well-meaning attempt to comply with our WP:ELNEVER guideline,
which says copyrighted materials should not be linked (with some exceptions).
While Phillis Wheatley's works undoubtedly were copyrighted,
my understanding is that they have all fallen out of copyright.
So WP:ELNEVER is no longer relevant to any of them.
So I restored that list.
--DavidCary (talk) 16:26, 28 June 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: , the chief problem with these links is WP:LINKSTOAVOID, #2: "Any site that misleads the reader by use of factually inaccurate material or unverifiable research, except to a limited extent in articles about the viewpoints that the site is presenting.".  Each link has the clause: 'Transcription, correction, editorial commentary, and markup by Students and Staff of Marymount University.'  Adding unverifiable information should not be included.  Thanks, Jip Orlando (talk) 16:53, 28 June 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  list of Phillis Wheatley works 

message: I have found a citation to support the claim that Phillis Wheatley's infant son passed soon after Phillis' passing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgrwWuaRuso, hopefully this would be a good addition to the article.
Sincerely, 49.192.44.178 (talk) 10:40, 17 August 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  New citation 

message: Phyllis Wheatly was born in Senegal, West Africa. It is unfair to remove her identity as a Senegalese woman. Here is a source
https://www.umb.edu/academics/cla/about/meet_phillis_wheatley#:~:text=A%20pioneering%20African%2DAmerican%20poet,servant%20for%20his%20wife%2C%20Susanna. Antiinaccuracy (talk) 23:16, 6 October 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: Already done The article already acknowledges that she was born in either The Gambia or Senegal. There appears conflicting sourcing on which particular country it is, but it is one of those two. Curbon7 (talk) 05:16, 14 October 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Semi-protected edit request on 6 October 2022 

message: Section: Poetry
The quote from The London Magazine of 1773 is not only wrong, it actually misrepresents the original in two places. Here is a correct transcription (I've substituted "s" for archaic "long s" in spots):  See original here to check my work. 199.208.172.35 (talk) 15:19, 28 October 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Semi-protected edit request on 28 October 2022 

message: The article currently states that a "Phyllis Wheatley Circle" was founded in two different years. Is this supposed to refer to such groups formed in two different cities? Pete unseth (talk) 15:32, 24 April 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Phyllis Wheatley Circle, need clarity 

message: I'm not yet established, so I'm throwing it here in case someone sees it, in the first sentence of the section Later life, there's a typo in the word primarily. thanks, Saeleriela (talk) 17:42, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
replies: text: Fixed, thanks. Beeswaxcandle (talk) 03:18, 23 February 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  typo