Sunday Feature: Dear Phillis

Dear Phillis

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BBC Radio 3 - Sunday Feature, Dear Phillis

The legacy of Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American poet.

Poet Momtaza Mehri presents a poetic dialogue with Phillis Wheatley, the first published African American poet.

Poet Momtaza Mehri explores the life, work and legacy of poet Phillis Wheatley – the African-American enslaved woman who was celebrated for her poetry in eighteenth century America and Britain. Regarded as a foremother of African American, American and Women’s writings in English - Wheatley’s legacy has survived centuries and she remains a critical and urgent voice of the American Revolution, and of a historic moment where both the American colonies and Britain were grappling with the question of freedom alongside slavery and the long-lasting philosophies of the enlightenment era.

We follow British poet Momtaza Mehri as she journeys through Wheatley’s complex legacies, and meets the contemporary writers and scholars breathing new life and understanding into her work. 

Through poetic reflections that take us from West Africa to the Americas, and reach here in Britain, Mehri creates space for an intimate dialogue with Wheatley’s life and work. Mehri hears about the neglected aspects of Wheatley’s story, including her childhood in Africa, the biases that have coloured Wheatley’s biography and the complex receptions she has had from different generations of readers.

Featuring Professor Joan Anim-Addo, Professor Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Dr Farah Jasmine Griffin, Professor Vincent Carretta, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Professor Joy James. 

Presenter: Momtaza Mehri
Producer: Tej Adeleye
Phillis Wheatley is read by Nerissa Bradley
Sound engineer: John Scott
Exec producer: Katherine Godfrey
Produced by Novel for BBC Radio 3.

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