WEBVTT
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the Rep 250 Advisory Group.
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We are a consortium of about
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70 groups in Massachusetts
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planning ways to
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commemorate the American Revolution.
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Actually,
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one of the big events of 1773 was
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the publication of Phyllis
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Wheatley's book .
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Her book came over on one of
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the spring AT to Boston.
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And Danielle Lagros George,
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who is a former Poet
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Laureate of the City of Boston,
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now a Professor Emerita of
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Creative Writing at Lesley University.
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And who is an Associate
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Professor of English at
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Stroudsburg University,
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author of the poetry collection,
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My Afmerica,
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have collaborated on a volume
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commemorating this, Wheatley at 250,
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Black Women Poets Reimagine
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the Verse of Phyllis Wheatley Peters.
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And they and 18 other Black
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women poets worked on
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reimagining or
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reinterpreting the poetry
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of Phyllis Wheatley.
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And so we actually were
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fortunate to have actress
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Bethany White with us,
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along with Danielle
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LaGrosse George and two of
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the contributing poets,
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Yele Soweta Kamara,
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who is a Sierra Leonean American writer,
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her book
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this year.
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She was the winner of the
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2023 Elizabeth Alexander
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Award for Poetry and the
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2020 Adam York Prize Accomplished Poet.
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So thank you for joining us, Yelly.
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And also with us
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a poet's collaborative collective.
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And in addition to writing poetry,
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she's the author of two novels,
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Sarah's Psalm and The
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Spirit of Josephine.
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Yalie is coming to us from
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the environs of Cincinnati.
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She teaches at Xavier University.
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Florence is coming to us
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from Aix-en-Provence in France,
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which she reports is warmer
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than where we are now.
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So thank you all for joining us.
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I will turn this over to
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Artris and Danielle,
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who can tell us about
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So thanks for joining us.
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Thank you, Bob, for having us.
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We're really happy to be
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here to celebrate this anthology,
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which began back in 2022 in
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a conversation you and I
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had about the commemorative year,
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the 250th anniversary of
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the publication of Phyllis
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Wheatley's book in 1773.
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And so you'd invited us to
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prepare a panel for the
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Colonial Society of Massachusetts.
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And I thought, yes, of course,
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we'll do that.
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And then a panel became a series of poems,
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which became a chapbook,
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which became an anthology.
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So you are implicated in this project.
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So thank you so much.
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And I'm going to begin with... Thank you.
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Yes,
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with some contextual notes about
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Phyllis Wheatley.
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And then our guests will
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talk a little bit about the
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process of making this book.
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So as many of you know,
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Phil Sweetly was the author
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or is the author of the
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1773 book Poems on Various Subjects,
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Religious and Moral.
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She's been called many
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things and is many things,
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including the West African
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girl enslaved by Boston
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Sweetly family in 1761,
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the acclaimed 18th century
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transcontinental poet.
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In a magnificent 2006 essay entitled
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The Difficult Miracle of
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Black Poetry in America,
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the poet June Jordan names
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Wheatley the first
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decidedly American poet on
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this continent.
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Can you hear me?
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Yes.
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On this continent,
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by virtue of the keen
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attention Wheatley pays to
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the turbulent events of her
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time and the
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revolutionaries who have forged America.
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The historian Henry Louis Gates Jr.
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situates Wheatley squarely
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in the colonial and
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post-colonial debates that
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sought to confirm or
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dismiss black intelligence.
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As a consequence of her
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distinction as a poet,
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Wheatley was thrust into a
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cosmopolitan sphere and
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found herself in
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conversation with such
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figures as George
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Washington and Benjamin Franklin,
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So you can imagine here is a teenager,
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a black teenager in conversation,
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in correspondence with
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these founding fathers.
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While she was also in
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conversation posthumously
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with Thomas Jefferson,
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whose 1785 notes on the
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state of Virginia prefers
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scathing and undeserved criticism.
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For Jefferson to have recognized
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Wheatley's intelligence and
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talent would have meant to
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recognize the intelligence
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and talent of those he had enslaved.
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Endorsers of Wheatley's book
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identified themselves as
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among the most respectable
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characters of Boston.
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These are the people who, in essence,
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blurbed her book, to use a current term.
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And they included the
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governor and the lieutenant
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governor of Massachusetts.
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Of her poems, they remarked,
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she's been examined by some
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of the best judges and is
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thought qualified to write them.
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A little less restrained,
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David Wall Streicher,
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a Wheatley biographer, notes,
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she became fluent and
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culturally literate and
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able to write poems in
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English so quickly that we
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shouldn't hesitate to call her a genius.
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There's been some really
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wonderful recent scholarship
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on Wheatley,
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including Honoré Fanon
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Jeffers' well-researched
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2020 collection of poems,
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The Age of Phyllis.
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And Jeffers advances the
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argument for referring to
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Wheatley by her married name,
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Wheatley Peters,
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thereby liberating Wheatley
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Peters from perpetual
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historical adolescence.
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So now we can separate the
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celebrated but enslaved
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teenage poet from the free and married
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author.
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Tara Bynum,
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a scholar of literary histories,
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deepens our understanding
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of Wheatley's inner life by
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identifying her letters, not her poems,
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as a means by which
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Wheatley delights in the
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pleasures of her living in
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spite of and because of the
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world at large.
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Phyllis Wheatley Peters
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called herself an Ethiopian
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and an African and poet, of course.
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She dubbed herself friend to, among others,
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Obor Tanner,
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a fellow enslaved woman with
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whom she shared a lengthy
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epistolary friendship.
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We might see Obor Tanner as her bestie.
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She was also friends with Scipio Moorhead,
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a young African-American
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painter who made the image
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of her that we're very familiar with,
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that frontispiece of her book,
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friends with Samson Ockel,
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a Mohegan Presbyterian evangelist,
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and with the English
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Countess of Huntingdon, Selina Hastings,
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who was instrumental in
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funding the publication of
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the book in 1774.
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So Wheatley saw her first
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published in London,
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published in Boston on two
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sides of the Atlantic.
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She named herself wife of John Peters.
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Historian Cornelia Dayton
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offers a narrative that
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runs counter to the popular
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and unfavorable ones we
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have about what transpired
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between the Peters family.
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Peter's,
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and among John Peter's chief efforts,
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she notes,
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was to insulate his wife from
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physically taxing housewife
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free and to create space
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and time for her to inhabit
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a writer's life and to be a mother.
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An acclaimed writer and
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political actor of her lifetime,
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Whitley would not live to
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see herself as inspiration
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for an immense number of scholarly,
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literary, and creative texts.
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She wouldn't see the plaque
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in Boston,
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recognizing the site where she
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was purchased,
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nor the likeness of herself
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in a bronze statue on the
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city's Commonwealth Mall,
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which is shaded so beautifully by trees,
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elm trees and linden trees.
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She wouldn't see the
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buildings that bear her name,
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the lecture halls.
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After her unexpected death in 1784,
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while she was still in her early
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And the second manuscript
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known to have been
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circulating at the time of
0:09:02.835 --> 0:09:04.976
her death has never been recovered.
0:09:05.758 --> 0:09:08.019
And we don't know the exact
0:09:08.059 --> 0:09:09.662
site of her grave at the
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Cops Hill Burying Ground in
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Boston's North End.
0:09:13.792 --> 0:09:14.072
She,
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we know that she's named after the
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ship that bore her to the
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Americas and into the maw
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of greed and the
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dehumanization that was a
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transatlantic slave trade.
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We will never know,
0:09:26.264 --> 0:09:28.066
or at least we don't think
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we will know her West African name,
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her true name,
0:09:31.769 --> 0:09:34.091
the name given to her by her parents,
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but we call her sister and
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we call her ancestor.
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And we call her the mother
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of African-American
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literature and the luminary
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of United States.
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Thank you so much, Danielle,
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for the introduction to the collection.
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And I'm just going to say a
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few words about the process
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of putting this anthology together.
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We had a lot of faith that
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the poets we were inviting
0:10:10.004 --> 0:10:11.024
into this project
0:10:11.465 --> 0:10:14.186
had a story to tell about
0:10:14.626 --> 0:10:15.807
Phyllis Wheatley as
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ancestor and inspiration.
0:10:18.729 --> 0:10:20.970
And we were not wrong in
0:10:21.549 --> 0:10:22.890
hoping that was the case.
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Truly, the response was tremendous.
0:10:26.413 --> 0:10:28.594
We celebrated the first yes
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that we received from our
0:10:30.534 --> 0:10:31.914
letter of invitation.
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And after that first yes came through,
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many others came down through the pike.
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And people were completely
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enthusiastic about
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celebrating Phillis
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Wheatley's poetry and
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talking about how she had
0:10:48.285 --> 0:10:51.128
served as a poetic
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inspiration in their own work.
0:10:54.389 --> 0:10:56.130
One of the essential
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features of this collection
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is that it is
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representative of Black
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poets throughout the diaspora.
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As Bob mentioned in introducing this panel,
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Yaeli is from Sierra Leone, and we have,
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including my co-editor,
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Haitian American poet,
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Danielle Legro-George,
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who are a part of this collection,
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both in country and out.
0:11:23.777 --> 0:11:26.658
And it is a beautiful thing
0:11:26.678 --> 0:11:27.938
that we were able to
0:11:27.999 --> 0:11:31.500
accomplish that because the true nature,
0:11:31.681 --> 0:11:33.081
it's truly representative.
0:11:33.802 --> 0:11:35.783
of Phillis Wheatley's legacy.
0:11:36.543 --> 0:11:38.605
So we really had a lot of
0:11:38.686 --> 0:11:41.947
fun putting the anthology together.
0:11:42.488 --> 0:11:44.009
Once we had all of the yeses,
0:11:44.149 --> 0:11:46.331
we began assigning poems to people.
0:11:47.152 --> 0:11:50.173
We talked about their craft.
0:11:50.634 --> 0:11:52.254
We talked about what we had
0:11:52.335 --> 0:11:53.495
seen in other of their
0:11:53.535 --> 0:11:55.596
works that might lend to a
0:11:55.677 --> 0:11:57.138
delightful interpretation
0:11:57.238 --> 0:11:58.799
of a particular poem and
0:11:58.879 --> 0:12:00.520
assign them accordingly.
0:12:01.341 --> 0:12:04.462
And again, we were not disappointed.
0:12:04.802 --> 0:12:06.464
There are so many various
0:12:06.563 --> 0:12:09.046
points of entree that the
0:12:09.086 --> 0:12:11.687
poets had as they wrote
0:12:11.866 --> 0:12:13.107
their craft statements
0:12:13.648 --> 0:12:15.948
about their particular process.
0:12:16.490 --> 0:12:18.250
And I'm just going to share
0:12:18.370 --> 0:12:19.691
one really quickly.
0:12:20.751 --> 0:12:23.333
And this is a poet, Sharon Strange,
0:12:23.793 --> 0:12:24.833
who wrote
0:12:26.921 --> 0:12:28.703
on Phyllis Wheatley's poem
0:12:28.764 --> 0:12:30.024
to the University at
0:12:30.086 --> 0:12:31.827
Cambridge in New England,
0:12:31.908 --> 0:12:32.828
a re-inscription.
0:12:33.330 --> 0:12:34.971
And she dedicates it to
0:12:35.432 --> 0:12:38.817
Phyllis Wheatley Peters and Claudine Gay.
0:12:39.738 --> 0:12:40.720
She starts off,
0:12:41.980 --> 0:12:43.341
One, prologue.
0:12:43.782 --> 0:12:46.004
Call it history, future,
0:12:46.364 --> 0:12:49.245
the web of energies connecting continents,
0:12:49.625 --> 0:12:50.525
diasporas.
0:12:51.047 --> 0:12:52.547
Call it synchronicity,
0:12:53.227 --> 0:12:55.188
fate spinning two lives,
0:12:55.589 --> 0:12:57.529
spawning twin duties,
0:12:59.030 --> 0:13:01.232
twinned by aboriginal home place,
0:13:01.592 --> 0:13:02.893
manifest genius,
0:13:03.374 --> 0:13:05.034
such phenomena who
0:13:05.075 --> 0:13:06.775
compelled your colonized
0:13:07.035 --> 0:13:10.197
patriarchal halls to hear their voices.
0:13:11.235 --> 0:13:14.897
So this is a trans-historical project.
0:13:15.496 --> 0:13:18.379
And I read the first stanza
0:13:18.479 --> 0:13:20.019
of her reinscription
0:13:20.100 --> 0:13:23.261
because it speaks to that
0:13:23.522 --> 0:13:26.062
trans-historical phenomenon, right?
0:13:26.903 --> 0:13:28.264
Both of the people she
0:13:28.323 --> 0:13:32.067
dedicates the poem to are a
0:13:32.147 --> 0:13:34.427
part of this august institution.
0:13:35.008 --> 0:13:35.948
And as a poet,
0:13:36.129 --> 0:13:38.509
Strange herself attended Harvard.
0:13:40.230 --> 0:13:41.772
Pulling all of these threads
0:13:41.971 --> 0:13:44.474
together is so much about
0:13:45.053 --> 0:13:47.735
what this project is really
0:13:47.796 --> 0:13:48.677
concerned with.
0:13:49.297 --> 0:13:51.999
So just thrilled with the
0:13:52.499 --> 0:13:54.660
breadth of work contained
0:13:54.900 --> 0:13:57.121
in the collection and the
0:13:57.201 --> 0:13:59.764
reception of the poets to
0:13:59.923 --> 0:14:02.485
tap into their own creative
0:14:02.566 --> 0:14:05.048
forces to make Phyllis
0:14:05.107 --> 0:14:06.389
Wheatley Peters work
0:14:07.028 --> 0:14:09.951
accessible to newer generations.
0:14:16.873 --> 0:14:19.933
So Bob will be rejoining us momentarily.
0:14:19.953 --> 0:14:22.375
And I have to say that I
0:14:22.455 --> 0:14:25.056
often think about Phyllis
0:14:25.355 --> 0:14:27.856
very much as a product of her time.
0:14:27.897 --> 0:14:29.977
And I'm interested to know whether,
0:14:30.658 --> 0:14:32.818
before we get to your two contributors,
0:14:34.078 --> 0:14:36.340
whether consideration was given to
0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:39.341
how much her space may have
0:14:39.422 --> 0:14:42.705
affected the space in which she lived,
0:14:42.725 --> 0:14:43.926
the spaces she visited,
0:14:44.407 --> 0:14:45.548
Old South Meeting House of
0:14:45.607 --> 0:14:46.729
which she was a congregant.
0:14:47.168 --> 0:14:49.971
Do you think that space is
0:14:50.172 --> 0:14:51.472
one of the factors that
0:14:51.653 --> 0:14:52.793
affects her writing?
0:14:56.116 --> 0:14:57.759
Yes, it's a great question.
0:14:57.778 --> 0:14:59.860
I think it could not but
0:15:00.321 --> 0:15:01.642
affect her writing.
0:15:01.701 --> 0:15:02.562
She was very much
0:15:04.657 --> 0:15:07.798
working within a community.
0:15:08.077 --> 0:15:09.457
We tend to think of poets
0:15:09.518 --> 0:15:12.178
and writers as isolated creatures, right?
0:15:12.259 --> 0:15:13.320
But Phillis Wheatley was
0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:15.799
very much in the community of Boston,
0:15:16.379 --> 0:15:17.341
documenting,
0:15:18.181 --> 0:15:20.182
witnessing and documenting
0:15:20.302 --> 0:15:21.902
the events of her day,
0:15:22.042 --> 0:15:24.802
including the impending revolution.
0:15:25.395 --> 0:15:29.301
You will recall that 1773, in 1773,
0:15:29.301 --> 0:15:31.224
we were not yet the United States,
0:15:31.264 --> 0:15:33.466
but there was something brewing.
0:15:33.486 --> 0:15:36.110
And so she was watching that
0:15:36.190 --> 0:15:37.832
and in conversation with
0:15:37.852 --> 0:15:39.495
this mentioned earlier.
0:15:41.317 --> 0:15:43.799
and others who were making the revolution,
0:15:43.919 --> 0:15:48.245
both within, you know, the colonists,
0:15:48.705 --> 0:15:51.248
white colonists circles,
0:15:51.427 --> 0:15:53.009
but also within circles of
0:15:53.451 --> 0:15:56.254
people of color in Boston
0:15:56.433 --> 0:15:57.315
and New England.
0:15:58.785 --> 0:15:59.025
Right.
0:15:59.086 --> 0:15:59.486
So, you know,
0:15:59.506 --> 0:16:00.847
they often say that the past
0:16:00.908 --> 0:16:02.048
is a foreign country and
0:16:02.087 --> 0:16:03.288
certainly we see that in
0:16:03.389 --> 0:16:06.030
language and in costume and
0:16:06.831 --> 0:16:07.971
in structures.
0:16:08.131 --> 0:16:10.173
And so I guess, you know,
0:16:10.212 --> 0:16:11.072
that would be one of the
0:16:11.113 --> 0:16:13.134
questions I'd have for your contributors,
0:16:13.174 --> 0:16:13.615
you know,
0:16:13.815 --> 0:16:15.936
is do they think about those
0:16:16.015 --> 0:16:17.756
things as they're coming?
0:16:17.836 --> 0:16:19.738
I mean, her words are very powerful.
0:16:21.820 --> 0:16:22.080
You know,
0:16:22.139 --> 0:16:25.642
she's obviously moved by the
0:16:25.701 --> 0:16:27.381
passions of her heart and
0:16:27.923 --> 0:16:29.202
the brilliance of her mind
0:16:29.663 --> 0:16:31.544
to write these extraordinary poems.
0:16:31.644 --> 0:16:34.566
But as we've just said, you know,
0:16:34.765 --> 0:16:37.668
place and time matters as well.
0:16:37.748 --> 0:16:40.590
And so do your contributors, I mean,
0:16:40.610 --> 0:16:41.450
do you think about those
0:16:41.490 --> 0:16:42.571
things when you're sitting down?
0:16:43.571 --> 0:16:45.572
write something that is
0:16:46.312 --> 0:16:48.094
meant to compliment or
0:16:48.254 --> 0:16:52.096
amplify or exhibit the
0:16:52.157 --> 0:16:53.216
genius of this woman.
0:16:54.418 --> 0:16:56.139
I think Florence would be a
0:16:56.219 --> 0:16:59.441
great person to address this question.
0:16:59.461 --> 0:17:00.721
Florence, would you mind?
0:17:01.522 --> 0:17:02.342
Well, not at all.
0:17:02.982 --> 0:17:03.524
Certainly,
0:17:05.944 --> 0:17:11.988
I put my heart and self into
0:17:12.288 --> 0:17:14.909
what I imagine was her situation.
0:17:16.509 --> 0:17:20.391
And the poem that I had the
0:17:20.490 --> 0:17:27.433
privilege of studying, living with, was,
0:17:29.095 --> 0:17:30.835
well, I'll tell you when I get to it.
0:17:31.536 --> 0:17:33.736
I'll tell you just how it
0:17:33.817 --> 0:17:34.936
came to her in the moment.
0:17:35.507 --> 0:17:38.508
And that moment took me into
0:17:39.848 --> 0:17:42.749
her situation in the Wheatley family,
0:17:43.690 --> 0:17:44.490
serving them,
0:17:45.931 --> 0:17:47.590
overhearing conversations
0:17:50.612 --> 0:17:54.794
and building her or
0:17:54.953 --> 0:17:56.394
allowing her imagination
0:17:57.694 --> 0:18:01.736
and her extraordinary genius to take her
0:18:02.611 --> 0:18:06.134
from serving positions to the page,
0:18:06.413 --> 0:18:09.435
to putting on paper her
0:18:10.396 --> 0:18:13.078
sense of poetic expression
0:18:14.038 --> 0:18:16.500
of the events of her time.
0:18:19.748 --> 0:18:20.128
Danielle,
0:18:20.148 --> 0:18:22.289
I believe you wanted to go in a
0:18:22.329 --> 0:18:23.771
particular order regarding
0:18:23.872 --> 0:18:24.771
your contributor.
0:18:24.791 --> 0:18:25.452
So I don't know if you'd
0:18:25.492 --> 0:18:26.894
like to give us a brief
0:18:26.953 --> 0:18:31.278
introduction to Gailey and
0:18:31.758 --> 0:18:33.159
how she came to be involved
0:18:33.199 --> 0:18:33.799
in this project.
0:18:35.020 --> 0:18:35.320
Yes.
0:18:37.182 --> 0:18:37.403
Well,
0:18:37.583 --> 0:18:40.484
I will read a little bit about her
0:18:41.705 --> 0:18:42.606
from her biography.
0:18:42.686 --> 0:18:43.548
I think Bob already
0:18:43.587 --> 0:18:46.470
mentioned some of what she
0:18:46.509 --> 0:18:47.530
has done in the world.
0:18:48.422 --> 0:18:49.362
But I want to mention that
0:18:49.402 --> 0:18:51.042
she earned a PhD in
0:18:51.123 --> 0:18:52.124
creative writing and
0:18:52.384 --> 0:18:53.564
English literature from the
0:18:53.663 --> 0:18:54.984
University of Cincinnati.
0:18:55.625 --> 0:18:57.346
She lives in Cincinnati,
0:18:57.405 --> 0:18:59.666
teaches English at Xavier University,
0:19:00.248 --> 0:19:01.887
and she's the 2022-23
0:19:01.988 --> 0:19:04.368
Cincinnati and Mercantile
0:19:04.509 --> 0:19:06.810
Library Poet Laureate.
0:19:07.250 --> 0:19:08.131
So I imagine she's doing
0:19:08.151 --> 0:19:10.771
some amazing work in that
0:19:10.853 --> 0:19:12.373
role and already has done
0:19:12.393 --> 0:19:16.055
some amazing work in that role.
0:19:16.604 --> 0:19:18.047
And I think Yaeli will speak
0:19:18.106 --> 0:19:19.910
a little bit about her
0:19:19.970 --> 0:19:25.219
process and her poem and her thinking.
0:19:26.663 --> 0:19:27.023
Excellent.
0:19:27.124 --> 0:19:28.345
So thank you so much.
0:19:28.384 --> 0:19:29.625
I'm very happy to be here.
0:19:29.645 --> 0:19:33.867
And so far as thinking about this poem,
0:19:34.429 --> 0:19:35.568
which originally the poem
0:19:35.588 --> 0:19:37.691
that I re-inscribed was to
0:19:37.730 --> 0:19:38.951
a lady on her coming to
0:19:39.011 --> 0:19:40.071
North America with her son
0:19:40.192 --> 0:19:41.593
for the recovery of her health.
0:19:42.534 --> 0:19:44.015
And well,
0:19:44.035 --> 0:19:44.954
the first thing was reading the
0:19:44.994 --> 0:19:46.115
poem over and over again
0:19:46.135 --> 0:19:48.076
and just thinking about the rhythm,
0:19:48.856 --> 0:19:50.097
the music, the thematics,
0:19:50.357 --> 0:19:52.700
the sonic nature and
0:19:52.759 --> 0:19:54.661
imagistic quality of Phil Sweetly's work.
0:19:55.037 --> 0:19:56.336
and just sitting with that for a while.
0:19:56.356 --> 0:19:57.317
So just kind of the first
0:19:57.337 --> 0:19:59.377
step was savoring the work itself.
0:19:59.718 --> 0:20:01.298
And the next thing was kind
0:20:01.337 --> 0:20:02.138
of a bewilderment.
0:20:02.459 --> 0:20:03.259
How do you add to a poem
0:20:03.278 --> 0:20:04.278
that already feels perfect?
0:20:04.679 --> 0:20:06.578
So there is just kind of a
0:20:06.839 --> 0:20:07.779
quiet period with that.
0:20:07.839 --> 0:20:08.099
And just,
0:20:08.180 --> 0:20:09.740
I felt it was a poem and I've
0:20:09.759 --> 0:20:10.319
spoken with other
0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:12.141
contributors that felt the
0:20:12.181 --> 0:20:13.080
same way about wanting to
0:20:13.181 --> 0:20:14.320
give these poems care.
0:20:14.500 --> 0:20:15.520
And so I was thinking really
0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:16.461
closely about all these
0:20:16.721 --> 0:20:17.521
different drafts of the
0:20:17.561 --> 0:20:18.622
poem until it eventually
0:20:18.682 --> 0:20:20.843
found its sort of momentum.
0:20:23.617 --> 0:20:24.157
And for me,
0:20:24.618 --> 0:20:25.779
what that entailed was thinking
0:20:25.859 --> 0:20:28.842
about my sort of craft
0:20:28.882 --> 0:20:30.103
notes is thinking about the
0:20:30.123 --> 0:20:31.923
synergy between Phillis
0:20:31.943 --> 0:20:32.724
Wheatley and myself.
0:20:32.805 --> 0:20:33.905
And so one of the things I
0:20:33.925 --> 0:20:34.686
was thinking about,
0:20:34.946 --> 0:20:36.028
or a few of the things I
0:20:36.048 --> 0:20:36.867
was thinking about with
0:20:37.388 --> 0:20:38.209
approaching this poem was
0:20:38.229 --> 0:20:39.150
thinking about my entry
0:20:39.190 --> 0:20:40.671
points into Phillis Wheatley's life.
0:20:41.412 --> 0:20:45.035
And as a young girl growing up in Oakland,
0:20:45.075 --> 0:20:45.835
California,
0:20:45.855 --> 0:20:48.237
the idea of poetry being
0:20:48.277 --> 0:20:49.857
possible for a black girl
0:20:49.897 --> 0:20:50.378
or a black woman
0:20:51.161 --> 0:20:52.102
through Phyllis Wheatley,
0:20:52.501 --> 0:20:53.662
the mention of her name and
0:20:53.902 --> 0:20:54.843
Nikki Giovanni and
0:20:54.883 --> 0:20:55.823
Gwendolyn Brooks for me.
0:20:55.863 --> 0:20:57.644
So these were some of the founding names,
0:20:57.683 --> 0:20:58.424
but there was never,
0:20:58.444 --> 0:21:01.226
I think the way that poetry
0:21:01.246 --> 0:21:02.287
was shared with me was
0:21:02.307 --> 0:21:03.126
Phyllis Wheatley was more
0:21:03.146 --> 0:21:04.748
of a name and sort of this
0:21:04.807 --> 0:21:05.769
monument and we didn't have
0:21:05.828 --> 0:21:06.828
opportunities to really dig
0:21:06.888 --> 0:21:07.469
into her work.
0:21:07.509 --> 0:21:08.430
And so this was a lovely
0:21:09.250 --> 0:21:10.050
sort of experience for me
0:21:10.090 --> 0:21:11.791
to be able to return to her
0:21:11.832 --> 0:21:13.352
work after some years.
0:21:13.532 --> 0:21:15.292
And so I was thinking about
0:21:16.693 --> 0:21:17.654
Phyllis Wheatley's love of
0:21:17.734 --> 0:21:19.214
faith and thinking about my
0:21:19.276 --> 0:21:20.115
own Christian faith
0:21:20.583 --> 0:21:21.384
as an entry point,
0:21:21.544 --> 0:21:22.964
thinking about her family,
0:21:23.464 --> 0:21:23.945
her being from the
0:21:24.006 --> 0:21:25.547
Senegambia and my family
0:21:25.646 --> 0:21:28.068
being from that region, Sierra Leone.
0:21:28.108 --> 0:21:28.788
So thinking about
0:21:28.828 --> 0:21:31.171
geographical references as
0:21:31.211 --> 0:21:34.773
well as faith sort of residences too.
0:21:35.354 --> 0:21:36.535
And something else that I
0:21:36.575 --> 0:21:38.537
was thinking about was that, you know,
0:21:38.997 --> 0:21:40.538
this poem was written about
0:21:41.098 --> 0:21:43.000
the recovery of health of a Black woman.
0:21:43.059 --> 0:21:45.903
And this is a pervasive topic.
0:21:46.143 --> 0:21:47.564
And I think often about how
0:21:48.405 --> 0:21:50.366
black women don't receive equitable care,
0:21:50.547 --> 0:21:51.047
healthcare,
0:21:51.728 --> 0:21:52.887
and thinking about what I
0:21:52.928 --> 0:21:55.410
would want for the beloved
0:21:55.430 --> 0:21:56.130
women in my life,
0:21:56.369 --> 0:21:57.530
the women that I know and don't know,
0:21:57.550 --> 0:21:58.790
and thinking about kin.
0:21:59.291 --> 0:22:00.892
And so in terms of putting
0:22:00.912 --> 0:22:01.532
this poem together,
0:22:01.553 --> 0:22:02.653
I was thinking about what
0:22:02.673 --> 0:22:03.413
would it look like to
0:22:03.453 --> 0:22:04.294
create a poem that felt
0:22:04.314 --> 0:22:05.535
like a sermon and felt like
0:22:05.575 --> 0:22:06.714
a wish and felt like a prayer?
0:22:07.115 --> 0:22:08.576
And how could I share that
0:22:08.635 --> 0:22:09.557
with women I love?
0:22:10.076 --> 0:22:11.518
And so that's how I came to
0:22:11.557 --> 0:22:12.377
write this poem.
0:22:13.098 --> 0:22:13.558
And yeah,
0:22:13.578 --> 0:22:15.380
I'm just gonna go ahead and read it now.
0:22:16.376 --> 0:22:16.978
And again,
0:22:17.018 --> 0:22:17.979
this is such a pleasure to be
0:22:18.019 --> 0:22:18.920
part of this anthology.
0:22:18.940 --> 0:22:20.082
It's one of the best moments
0:22:20.142 --> 0:22:21.844
of my literary career so far,
0:22:21.884 --> 0:22:22.585
and I know that it will
0:22:22.625 --> 0:22:23.526
remain one of the best.
0:22:23.705 --> 0:22:24.606
So thank you again,
0:22:25.307 --> 0:22:26.169
Danielle and Archeress.
0:22:29.093 --> 0:22:31.214
So this poem is called
0:22:31.335 --> 0:22:32.797
Declarations Over Your Life.
0:22:33.498 --> 0:22:35.000
For every sister in need of
0:22:35.059 --> 0:22:35.780
a health blessing.
0:22:37.041 --> 0:22:37.883
Precious sister,
0:22:37.903 --> 0:22:40.085
I hold your hand and pray
0:22:40.184 --> 0:22:42.007
bliss over every cell of
0:22:42.047 --> 0:22:43.868
your being and soothe the
0:22:43.929 --> 0:22:46.391
muscles that spasm in anxiety.
0:22:47.231 --> 0:22:48.772
May you remember who you are
0:22:49.153 --> 0:22:50.055
and whose you are,
0:22:50.615 --> 0:22:51.476
and may you recall
0:22:51.536 --> 0:22:53.218
confidently the steadfast
0:22:53.357 --> 0:22:54.759
and gentle architecture of
0:22:54.798 --> 0:22:56.300
your body and expect
0:22:56.381 --> 0:22:58.082
wellness to soon flood its
0:22:58.142 --> 0:22:59.304
majestic contours.
0:23:00.204 --> 0:23:01.786
May the mass be disappeared,
0:23:02.467 --> 0:23:03.928
and the strictures slacken,
0:23:04.548 --> 0:23:06.588
and the toxins break down to nothing.
0:23:07.470 --> 0:23:09.230
May the angels assigned to
0:23:09.290 --> 0:23:12.252
life and limb cover you, protect you,
0:23:12.752 --> 0:23:15.634
shroud you in their manifold ikru wings.
0:23:16.215 --> 0:23:17.537
And may God hold your heart
0:23:17.676 --> 0:23:19.238
in his hand until you hear
0:23:19.317 --> 0:23:20.798
a psalm rising from the
0:23:20.858 --> 0:23:22.259
wonder of your own breath.
0:23:22.779 --> 0:23:23.641
Ah, salah.
0:23:23.661 --> 0:23:24.441
Ah, salah.
0:23:24.461 --> 0:23:25.182
Ah, salah.
0:23:25.201 --> 0:23:25.241
Ah.
0:23:28.911 --> 0:23:30.333
And in the operating room,
0:23:30.752 --> 0:23:31.855
may the doctor become an
0:23:31.994 --> 0:23:33.876
auntie and the nurse a brother.
0:23:34.478 --> 0:23:36.180
May stranger kindle to kin.
0:23:37.020 --> 0:23:39.443
May dignity burn the edges of isolation.
0:23:40.045 --> 0:23:41.286
May you be heard with
0:23:41.346 --> 0:23:43.128
neither doubt nor prejudice
0:23:43.269 --> 0:23:44.569
nor impending slander.
0:23:45.717 --> 0:23:46.617
May the vector of your
0:23:46.657 --> 0:23:48.080
questions land with no
0:23:48.141 --> 0:23:49.742
crook in their spine on the
0:23:49.782 --> 0:23:51.065
way to the ear of the
0:23:51.105 --> 0:23:52.527
professional or personnel
0:23:52.606 --> 0:23:55.010
who needs to hear them if they must.
0:23:55.391 --> 0:23:56.673
May those who love you fight
0:23:56.752 --> 0:23:58.695
for you all in the name of
0:23:58.855 --> 0:24:00.618
every good thing that you are owed.
0:24:01.460 --> 0:24:03.020
May the suture silken as the
0:24:03.060 --> 0:24:04.722
wound heals for the last time.
0:24:05.503 --> 0:24:06.523
May you become one with the
0:24:06.604 --> 0:24:07.744
rapturous velocity of
0:24:07.826 --> 0:24:10.067
wellness and may it know you by name.
0:24:10.847 --> 0:24:12.269
May the ailment be banished
0:24:12.630 --> 0:24:14.270
and your gait be a thud as
0:24:14.351 --> 0:24:15.811
short and fierce as thunder
0:24:16.153 --> 0:24:17.594
on the stillest summer night.
0:24:18.193 --> 0:24:19.355
And may you be filled with
0:24:19.454 --> 0:24:21.156
unflinching testimony and light.
0:24:21.815 --> 0:24:24.957
Sister, woman of beloved perpetual future,
0:24:25.458 --> 0:24:26.057
is yours.
0:24:26.679 --> 0:24:28.059
May every holy wind wrap
0:24:28.140 --> 0:24:29.701
around you and lift you
0:24:29.800 --> 0:24:31.422
from supine to upright.
0:24:32.182 --> 0:24:33.403
May every step you take from
0:24:33.423 --> 0:24:34.724
the hospital bed be flanked
0:24:34.765 --> 0:24:37.205
with the scents of home, hibiscus,
0:24:37.586 --> 0:24:39.367
cocoa butter, bergamot.
0:24:40.048 --> 0:24:41.529
May you smile at what awaits.
0:24:42.170 --> 0:24:43.750
your lover, your child,
0:24:44.011 --> 0:24:44.892
and the tomorrow that you
0:24:44.912 --> 0:24:47.173
will continue to build here on earth.
0:24:47.974 --> 0:24:49.256
May you too give thanks for
0:24:49.316 --> 0:24:51.278
things unseen but known and felt,
0:24:51.478 --> 0:24:53.038
triumphant sister.
0:24:53.660 --> 0:24:54.881
May there be ease from hair
0:24:54.941 --> 0:24:57.563
follicle to arch of foot evermore.
0:24:58.042 --> 0:25:00.685
And may the sun greet you again and again,
0:25:00.705 --> 0:25:02.386
a velvet bright fruit
0:25:02.586 --> 0:25:03.748
rising from the dirt of
0:25:03.788 --> 0:25:05.809
this land to brush your sweet face.
0:25:06.349 --> 0:25:07.151
And like the sun,
0:25:07.550 --> 0:25:08.852
may every day break grief
0:25:09.173 --> 0:25:10.053
and resist death.
0:25:10.854 --> 0:25:11.894
what is left to say but
0:25:11.974 --> 0:25:14.115
sister good morning good
0:25:14.155 --> 0:25:18.558
morning thank you brava
0:25:20.420 --> 0:25:29.585
stunning so thank you uh
0:25:30.025 --> 0:25:31.746
bailey that poem is very
0:25:31.826 --> 0:25:36.028
moving to me and with its
0:25:36.169 --> 0:25:39.990
ending of of rising right
0:25:40.353 --> 0:25:41.674
And I think that's been part
0:25:41.734 --> 0:25:44.017
of our project of bringing
0:25:44.938 --> 0:25:47.181
Phyllis Wheatley forth into
0:25:47.221 --> 0:25:48.342
the 21st century,
0:25:48.422 --> 0:25:51.306
having her rise into the 21st century,
0:25:51.786 --> 0:25:52.886
or continue to rise into
0:25:52.906 --> 0:25:54.890
the 21st century.
0:25:54.930 --> 0:25:54.990
Yes.
0:25:56.223 --> 0:25:56.743
Definitely.
0:25:56.784 --> 0:26:00.026
It was so much about what we
0:26:00.866 --> 0:26:02.508
intended for this
0:26:02.567 --> 0:26:04.229
publication as far as
0:26:04.288 --> 0:26:06.730
reaching newer generations
0:26:07.471 --> 0:26:10.252
and the placement of the poetry.
0:26:11.233 --> 0:26:11.673
Originally,
0:26:11.713 --> 0:26:12.934
we thought we would have
0:26:13.474 --> 0:26:14.756
Phillis Wheatley's original
0:26:14.796 --> 0:26:18.498
poems first and then the
0:26:19.318 --> 0:26:20.740
new re-inscribed poems.
0:26:21.619 --> 0:26:23.121
And then there was a
0:26:23.181 --> 0:26:25.281
recognition that it's the
0:26:25.382 --> 0:26:27.843
story of the creation of
0:26:27.903 --> 0:26:30.304
these new poems that is so
0:26:30.503 --> 0:26:33.846
significant because we are
0:26:34.006 --> 0:26:35.567
opening a pathway for
0:26:35.646 --> 0:26:37.106
people to understand her
0:26:37.146 --> 0:26:38.147
work in a new way.
0:26:38.567 --> 0:26:40.528
So we start with those craft
0:26:40.568 --> 0:26:42.170
statements about how poets
0:26:42.210 --> 0:26:44.570
were inspired for their particular poem.
0:26:45.111 --> 0:26:47.992
then move to the re-inscribed poem,
0:26:48.493 --> 0:26:50.394
and then end with Phyllis
0:26:50.454 --> 0:26:52.096
Wheatley's original poem.
0:26:52.896 --> 0:26:56.900
And that really is a journey
0:26:57.220 --> 0:26:59.082
that allows people to
0:26:59.321 --> 0:27:01.683
understand how significant
0:27:01.723 --> 0:27:03.964
her legacy is and gain that
0:27:04.025 --> 0:27:05.846
new appreciation of her work.
0:27:07.688 --> 0:27:08.868
People have been responding
0:27:08.969 --> 0:27:13.692
very positively to Florence's essay,
0:27:15.055 --> 0:27:17.317
and thoughts on the poem
0:27:17.436 --> 0:27:18.978
that she re-inscribed.
0:27:19.317 --> 0:27:20.057
So Florence,
0:27:20.117 --> 0:27:21.058
I'm hoping you won't mind
0:27:21.098 --> 0:27:24.141
sharing your process with us,
0:27:24.181 --> 0:27:27.623
the Wheatley poem, and then your poem.
0:27:28.823 --> 0:27:29.303
All right.
0:27:30.203 --> 0:27:34.026
I thought I might start with
0:27:34.445 --> 0:27:36.047
Phyllis Sweet's poem, though,
0:27:38.228 --> 0:27:40.349
and end with
0:27:42.509 --> 0:27:45.030
my process, if you will.
0:27:49.516 --> 0:27:50.656
It was her first published
0:27:50.717 --> 0:27:56.021
poem that I had the pleasure,
0:27:56.821 --> 0:27:59.003
the privilege of revisiting.
0:28:00.184 --> 0:28:01.787
And I say revisiting because
0:28:02.007 --> 0:28:05.711
I grew up acquainted with
0:28:05.770 --> 0:28:06.832
Phyllis Sweetly's work.
0:28:11.413 --> 0:28:13.596
The poem was delivered to
0:28:13.695 --> 0:28:15.637
the Newport Mercury by
0:28:15.857 --> 0:28:22.584
someone who attached these lines.
0:28:24.144 --> 0:28:26.807
Composed by a Negro girl
0:28:28.108 --> 0:28:29.470
belonging to one Mr.
0:28:29.509 --> 0:28:31.771
Wheatley of Boston on the
0:28:31.811 --> 0:28:34.153
following occasion when Messrs.
0:28:34.193 --> 0:28:38.397
Husey and Coffin belonging to Nantucket
0:28:39.161 --> 0:28:41.663
being bound from thence to Boston,
0:28:42.303 --> 0:28:44.265
narrowly escaped being cast
0:28:44.345 --> 0:28:46.727
away on Cape Cod in one of
0:28:46.767 --> 0:28:47.686
the late storms.
0:28:50.328 --> 0:28:52.911
Being at Mr. Wheatley's and
0:28:52.971 --> 0:28:53.892
while at dinner,
0:28:54.932 --> 0:28:56.993
told of their narrow escape,
0:28:57.595 --> 0:28:59.715
this Negro girl at the same
0:28:59.816 --> 0:29:04.179
time tending table heard of their plight,
0:29:05.000 --> 0:29:07.301
from which she composed verses.
0:29:10.156 --> 0:29:14.240
Imagine how this came to her.
0:29:18.523 --> 0:29:22.606
Her poem on Mrs. Husey and Coffin.
0:29:27.931 --> 0:29:30.733
Did fear and danger so
0:29:30.894 --> 0:29:33.256
perplex your mind as made
0:29:33.296 --> 0:29:35.738
you fearful of the whistling wind?
0:29:37.578 --> 0:29:39.580
Was it not Boreas's knit his
0:29:40.230 --> 0:29:42.771
angry brow against you?
0:29:44.073 --> 0:29:48.115
Or did consideration bow to lend you aid?
0:29:48.815 --> 0:29:50.796
Did not his winds combine to
0:29:50.856 --> 0:29:53.698
stop your passage with churlish line?
0:29:54.617 --> 0:29:56.659
Did haughty Aeolus with
0:29:56.740 --> 0:29:58.641
contempt look down with
0:29:58.840 --> 0:30:02.382
aspect windy and a studied frown?
0:30:03.962 --> 0:30:04.884
Regard them not.
0:30:06.384 --> 0:30:09.046
The great supreme, the wise,
0:30:09.772 --> 0:30:11.813
intends for something hidden
0:30:11.932 --> 0:30:12.973
from our eyes.
0:30:14.834 --> 0:30:16.574
Suppose the groundless gulf
0:30:17.054 --> 0:30:19.095
had snatched away Husey and
0:30:19.154 --> 0:30:21.674
Coffin to the raging sea.
0:30:23.315 --> 0:30:24.275
Where would they go?
0:30:25.895 --> 0:30:29.415
Where would their abode be?
0:30:31.876 --> 0:30:33.057
Were the supreme an
0:30:33.217 --> 0:30:36.136
independent god or made
0:30:36.176 --> 0:30:38.897
their beds down in the shades below?
0:30:39.602 --> 0:30:41.682
where neither pleasure nor
0:30:41.801 --> 0:30:43.002
content can flow.
0:30:44.623 --> 0:30:47.223
To heaven their souls with
0:30:47.344 --> 0:30:48.743
eager raptures soar.
0:30:49.784 --> 0:30:53.984
Enjoy the bliss of him they would adore.
0:30:55.325 --> 0:30:56.945
Had the soft gliding streams
0:30:57.066 --> 0:30:58.165
of grace been near?
0:30:59.625 --> 0:31:00.705
Some favorite hope,
0:31:01.446 --> 0:31:03.326
their fainting hearts to cheer.
0:31:04.346 --> 0:31:08.107
Doubtless the fear of danger far had fled.
0:31:09.425 --> 0:31:11.287
No more repeated victory
0:31:12.428 --> 0:31:13.548
crowned their heads.
0:31:18.790 --> 0:31:21.413
The poem was published.
0:31:21.472 --> 0:31:22.953
Her first published poem
0:31:25.035 --> 0:31:28.076
appeared in the newspaper,
0:31:28.217 --> 0:31:29.037
the Newport Mercury, in 1767.
0:31:29.037 --> 0:31:31.097
She was 18 years old.
0:31:38.876 --> 0:31:39.498
I'm sorry.
0:31:41.480 --> 0:31:42.661
Slip of tongue.
0:31:43.161 --> 0:31:44.663
She was 14 years old.
0:31:47.526 --> 0:31:48.807
She was 14 years old.
0:31:54.692 --> 0:31:58.537
My reinscription on Messrs.
0:31:58.616 --> 0:31:59.637
Husey and Coffin.
0:32:02.280 --> 0:32:05.002
Hearing of your brush with death at sea,
0:32:05.723 --> 0:32:08.026
young Phyllis rushed to pen
0:32:08.266 --> 0:32:09.047
her wonderment.
0:32:10.387 --> 0:32:13.810
How you endured torment, tormenting winds,
0:32:14.852 --> 0:32:17.273
pelagic waters buffeting your catch.
0:32:18.895 --> 0:32:21.038
Did you read the script in
0:32:21.117 --> 0:32:22.239
obsidian clouds?
0:32:24.260 --> 0:32:24.740
Trembling,
0:32:25.821 --> 0:32:28.704
did you curse mythic wind deities?
0:32:30.518 --> 0:32:34.060
or pray to the great supreme that you,
0:32:34.662 --> 0:32:38.705
Hussie and Coffin, spared briny graves,
0:32:39.266 --> 0:32:42.970
be guided over the waves to Boston Harbor,
0:32:43.851 --> 0:32:45.471
where hopeful and heartfelt
0:32:45.511 --> 0:32:46.573
relief awaited?
0:32:48.115 --> 0:32:49.056
Did you thank heaven,
0:32:50.156 --> 0:32:53.240
promising never again would
0:32:53.279 --> 0:32:55.602
you repeat risking your lives at sea?
0:32:58.288 --> 0:33:00.567
With her seraphic gifts and
0:33:00.627 --> 0:33:01.729
Christian sympathy,
0:33:02.388 --> 0:33:03.808
Phyllis pondered the plight
0:33:04.449 --> 0:33:06.690
of men in ships at sea.
0:33:12.250 --> 0:33:20.132
Her poem at 14 stirred a lot in me.
0:33:22.252 --> 0:33:27.993
I was happy to have this poem to
0:33:29.005 --> 0:33:30.766
allow me a sentimental
0:33:30.806 --> 0:33:34.047
return to Boston and to the Cape.
0:33:34.707 --> 0:33:35.166
But first,
0:33:35.867 --> 0:33:37.567
I had to renew acquaintance with
0:33:37.587 --> 0:33:38.328
the classics.
0:33:39.828 --> 0:33:41.289
I was reminded of my
0:33:41.349 --> 0:33:43.010
enthusiasm for the classics
0:33:43.790 --> 0:33:44.951
as a high school student,
0:33:45.571 --> 0:33:47.892
but I marvel at her
0:33:47.971 --> 0:33:49.692
knowledge of the classics
0:33:51.034 --> 0:33:53.335
and admire her deft
0:33:53.575 --> 0:33:56.935
insertion of the gods in her poem.
0:33:59.655 --> 0:34:01.596
And then an excursion into
0:34:01.636 --> 0:34:03.517
the meteorology of Boston's
0:34:03.636 --> 0:34:05.798
coastal waters for suitable
0:34:05.877 --> 0:34:09.298
vocabulary occupied me for,
0:34:10.159 --> 0:34:11.400
and I wrote several hours,
0:34:11.559 --> 0:34:12.900
actually for several days.
0:34:16.782 --> 0:34:18.682
I then realized the poem was
0:34:18.742 --> 0:34:21.244
not about winds at sea,
0:34:22.063 --> 0:34:23.143
rather it's about the
0:34:23.204 --> 0:34:25.364
experience of the two men,
0:34:25.425 --> 0:34:27.405
Husey and Coffin.
0:34:30.353 --> 0:34:31.353
Phyllis Wheatley's many
0:34:31.432 --> 0:34:32.494
questions about their
0:34:32.673 --> 0:34:34.673
experience had me shift my
0:34:34.733 --> 0:34:36.675
focus from the water to the men.
0:34:38.295 --> 0:34:39.494
I copied her style of
0:34:39.574 --> 0:34:42.335
questions and appropriated
0:34:42.416 --> 0:34:44.135
some of her lexicon.
0:34:46.097 --> 0:34:48.677
Her rhyme scheme renewed my
0:34:48.836 --> 0:34:50.498
interest in rhyming.
0:34:53.237 --> 0:34:55.818
And my poem became a sonnet,
0:34:55.938 --> 0:34:59.739
which seemed appropriate for the period
0:35:00.557 --> 0:35:03.639
and for the material.
0:35:07.280 --> 0:35:08.621
In my home library,
0:35:08.641 --> 0:35:13.442
I found the life and works
0:35:13.581 --> 0:35:17.023
of Phyllis Wheatley by G. Herbert Renfrow,
0:35:17.202 --> 0:35:22.425
first published in 1916.
0:35:22.425 --> 0:35:24.625
In Renfrow's introduction to
0:35:24.644 --> 0:35:25.885
the collection of her poems
0:35:25.965 --> 0:35:28.025
and correspondence, he wrote,
0:35:28.967 --> 0:35:29.567
and I quote,
0:35:31.963 --> 0:35:33.463
In the days when women were
0:35:33.563 --> 0:35:35.865
not encouraged to pursue
0:35:36.166 --> 0:35:37.867
the richer fields of
0:35:37.947 --> 0:35:39.268
science and literature,
0:35:40.708 --> 0:35:42.190
when only the wealthy and
0:35:42.230 --> 0:35:44.431
refined invaded the
0:35:44.510 --> 0:35:47.512
storehouses of ancient classics,
0:35:48.653 --> 0:35:50.954
a Negro girl became an
0:35:51.074 --> 0:35:53.597
honored precedent for an
0:35:53.777 --> 0:35:54.878
ungrateful nation.
0:35:56.739 --> 0:35:57.378
Close quote.
0:35:59.840 --> 0:36:01.081
Many of her poems in
0:36:01.771 --> 0:36:03.432
the collection have an
0:36:03.532 --> 0:36:05.273
elegiac tone that
0:36:05.353 --> 0:36:07.155
influenced my re-inscription.
0:36:09.976 --> 0:36:13.199
I am grateful to the works
0:36:13.699 --> 0:36:14.960
of brilliant Phyllis
0:36:15.041 --> 0:36:17.521
Wheatley for the occasion
0:36:17.581 --> 0:36:23.465
to honor her in this amazing book.
0:36:29.030 --> 0:36:29.971
And I want to
0:36:32.168 --> 0:36:32.628
Repeat,
0:36:33.028 --> 0:36:38.853
she was 14 years old when she
0:36:39.534 --> 0:36:44.117
displayed evidence of being a genius,
0:36:44.938 --> 0:36:46.000
not just a prodigy.
0:36:48.722 --> 0:36:50.543
And when her command of
0:36:50.724 --> 0:36:53.326
English was extraordinary
0:36:55.347 --> 0:37:00.211
and her capacity for empathy evident.
0:37:02.291 --> 0:37:04.532
And I imagine the memory of
0:37:04.632 --> 0:37:06.514
her Atlantic crossing
0:37:07.675 --> 0:37:09.856
resonated with her
0:37:10.715 --> 0:37:13.056
identification with the
0:37:13.436 --> 0:37:18.438
close call that you see in Coffin Act.
0:37:21.161 --> 0:37:22.021
Thank you, Florence.
0:37:22.590 --> 0:37:25.012
Thank you for your re-inscription.
0:37:25.112 --> 0:37:26.373
I so appreciate the many
0:37:26.494 --> 0:37:29.135
questions that it contains
0:37:29.215 --> 0:37:30.916
and how they echo the
0:37:30.956 --> 0:37:33.539
questions of weekly.
0:37:33.719 --> 0:37:34.699
And I appreciate you
0:37:34.739 --> 0:37:38.262
mentioning the possible
0:37:38.362 --> 0:37:42.186
evocation of the Middle Passage for us.
0:37:45.367 --> 0:37:49.150
Thank you both for embarking
0:37:49.170 --> 0:37:51.592
on this extraordinary project.
0:37:53.121 --> 0:37:54.862
I think it will bring together,
0:37:54.882 --> 0:37:58.465
at least on paper,
0:37:59.766 --> 0:38:01.967
many poets of our time
0:38:02.648 --> 0:38:05.750
whose works we won't know no better.
0:38:08.030 --> 0:38:10.992
And it will certainly lift
0:38:13.333 --> 0:38:16.936
the works of Phyllis Sweetling.
0:38:19.097 --> 0:38:19.938
That's been our goal.
0:38:27.277 --> 0:38:28.739
Well, thank you all.
0:38:28.759 --> 0:38:29.318
This has been an
0:38:29.398 --> 0:38:32.021
extraordinary introduction
0:38:32.041 --> 0:38:34.123
to both Phyllis Wheatley
0:38:34.182 --> 0:38:35.342
Peters and to this
0:38:35.563 --> 0:38:37.545
tremendous volume and to
0:38:37.585 --> 0:38:38.726
the other voices who are
0:38:38.766 --> 0:38:39.927
now inspired by her.
0:38:39.987 --> 0:38:41.547
And as Florence was saying,
0:38:41.947 --> 0:38:43.349
these reinscriptions we
0:38:43.389 --> 0:38:48.012
hope will continue her legacy, you know,
0:38:48.012 --> 0:38:49.552
250 years into the future
0:38:50.253 --> 0:38:52.155
really is a conversation between
0:39:15.563 --> 0:39:15.762
Yes,
0:39:15.782 --> 0:39:17.403
what we should add is that there is
0:39:17.463 --> 0:39:19.846
going to be an official launch.
0:39:19.865 --> 0:39:20.586
We've had a couple of
0:39:20.626 --> 0:39:23.168
readings from the anthology,
0:39:23.188 --> 0:39:23.889
but there will be an
0:39:23.969 --> 0:39:26.170
official launch on March
0:39:26.670 --> 0:39:28.652
14th at the Massachusetts
0:39:28.813 --> 0:39:33.956
Historical Society in Boston at 6 p.m.
0:39:35.217 --> 0:39:36.878
And we will have music and
0:39:36.918 --> 0:39:38.840
we will have contributors,
0:39:38.880 --> 0:39:41.262
including Florence and others.
0:39:41.978 --> 0:39:44.061
to help us continue to bring
0:39:44.081 --> 0:39:45.644
this book into the world.
0:39:45.684 --> 0:39:47.387
So we want to invite Robert
0:39:47.407 --> 0:39:50.753
Smith to attend the launch.
0:39:51.554 --> 0:39:51.956
Wonderful.
0:40:09.632 --> 0:40:10.994
I'm really speechless having
0:40:11.034 --> 0:40:12.733
now heard you again read
0:40:12.873 --> 0:40:14.375
your work and her work.
0:40:14.434 --> 0:40:15.014
So thank you.
0:40:16.956 --> 0:40:20.016
And thanks to Jonathan Lane, our producer,
0:40:20.398 --> 0:40:22.478
and to our many friends who
0:40:22.577 --> 0:40:23.759
tune in regularly.
0:40:24.579 --> 0:40:24.838
You know,
0:40:24.858 --> 0:40:25.960
we initially thought we'd have a
0:40:26.000 --> 0:40:27.860
handful of history folks in
0:40:27.940 --> 0:40:29.380
and around Boston tuning in,
0:40:29.400 --> 0:40:30.342
but we actually have
0:40:30.882 --> 0:40:32.922
regular listeners all around the world.
0:40:35.795 --> 0:40:37.056
I thank some of them.
0:40:37.717 --> 0:40:38.577
And if you're in one of
0:40:38.597 --> 0:40:40.438
these places and listening,
0:40:40.478 --> 0:40:42.161
send Jonathan Lane an email,
0:40:42.621 --> 0:40:45.302
jlane at revolution250.org,
0:40:46.043 --> 0:40:47.403
and he'll send you some of
0:40:47.525 --> 0:40:50.206
our Revolution 250 gear.
0:40:50.367 --> 0:40:51.807
So thank you again to our
0:40:52.047 --> 0:40:53.588
Chris Bethany White and Danielle Lake
0:40:59.224 --> 0:41:00.943
the verse of Phyllis Wheatley Peters.
0:41:00.963 --> 0:41:02.284
Thanks to all of our listeners.
0:41:02.344 --> 0:41:05.085
And so if you are in one of these places,
0:41:05.686 --> 0:41:09.726
send us an email, Brasilia, Bangkok,
0:41:10.306 --> 0:41:14.047
Dublin, Kingston, Jamaica, or Kingston,
0:41:14.068 --> 0:41:14.947
Massachusetts,
0:41:15.088 --> 0:41:17.148
and all places between and beyond.