菲莉斯‧惠特利 (Phyllis
Wheatley) ：第一位出版專書的非裔美人
1773年9月1日
有一天，惠特利夫婦看到菲莉斯拿著粉筆在牆上寫字。惠特利夫婦不但沒有處罰菲莉斯，反而鼓勵她學習。此外，惠特利夫婦的女兒也教導菲莉斯閱讀和寫作。惠特利同時也學習英國文學、拉丁文，以及聖經。但是她表現最好的地方卻是在寫詩這部分。她的第一首詩作於1767年就發表在「新港水星」 (Newport
Mercury) 這份報紙上頭。
六年之後，在替惠特利一家人幫傭的情況下，菲莉斯‧惠特利搭船到了倫敦，並且在那裡遇到了賽琳娜‧哈斯汀 (Selina
Hasting) ，也就是杭廷頓伯爵夫人 (Countess
of Huntingdon) 。伯爵夫人後來在1773年協助她出版了一冊詩集。然而，在美國還有另外一個驚喜等著惠特利。
One day, the Wheatleys saw Phyllis writing on a wall with chalk. Rather than punish her, the Wheatleys encouraged her to learn. Their daughter tutored her in reading and writing. Wheatley also studied English literature, Latin, and the Bible, but what she did best was to write poetry. Her first poem was published in the Newport Mercury newspaper in 1767.
Six years later, in the service of the Wheatley family, Phyllis Wheatley sailed to London where she met Selina Hasting, the Countess of Huntingdon. The Countess helped Wheatley publish a volume of her poetry in 1773. Wheatley had another surprise waiting for her back in America.
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