The first published African-American poet, Phillis Wheatley (1753-84) was born in West Africa, captured, and sold as a slave to the Wheatley family of Boston. Educated alongside her master's children, Wheatley achieved international renown with her initial poems but slipped into obscurity shortly afterward and died in poverty.

• DedicationTo the PublicPrefaceMr. Wheatley's Letter to the Publisher Poems:To MaecenasOn virtue On being brought from Africa to AmericaTo the University of Cambridge, in New England To the Kings's Most Excellent Majesty On the Death of the Rev. Dr. SewellOn the Death of the Rev. George WhitfieldOn the Death of a Young Lady of five years of ageOn the Death of a Young Gentleman To a Lady, on the Death of her Husband Goliath of GathThoughts on the Works of Providence To a Lady, on the Death of three Relationships To a Clergyman on the Death of his LadyHymn of the MorningHymn of the EveningIsaiah-63rd Chap. 1st and 8th VersesOn Recollection On ImaginationA Funeral Poem on the Death Of C.E., an Infant of twelve months To Captain H-----DTo the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth Ode to Neptune, on Mrs. W----'s Voyage to England To a Lady, on her coming to North America with her Son , for the Recovery of her HealthTo a Lady, on her remarkable Preservation in a Hurricane, in North Carolina To a Lady and her Children, on the Death of her Son and their Brother To a Gentleman and Lady, on the Death of the Lady's Brother and sister, and a Child of the name of Avis, aged one yearOn the Death of Dr. Samuel MarshallTo a Gentleman, on his voyage to Great Britain, for the Recovery of his Health To the Rev. Dr. Thomas Amory, on reading his Sermons on Daily Devotion, in which that Duty is recommended and assistedOn the Death of J.C., an InfantA Hymn to HumanityTo the Hon. T.H., Esq., on the Death of his Daughter Niobe in Distress for her Children slain by ApolloTo S.M., a young African Painter, on seeing his Works To his Honor the Lieutenant Governor, on the Death of his Lady A Farewell to AmericaA Rebus Answer to the Rebus Memoir