(NewsNation) — In the annals of American literature, Phillis Wheatley stands as a trailblazer, defying the odds to become the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry. Her story ...

The author of a new biography of Phillis Wheatley, one of the country’s first major poets, has received a $50,000 history award.

In 1765, when Phillis Wheatley was about eleven years old ... apparently led to a friendship with Occum, who was also a poet, and who later published an Indian hymnal. On February 11, 1774 ...

click image for close-up A rare portrait of Phillis Wheatley shows her facing forward, wearing an evening dress and jewelry. The portrait appeared in Revue des Colonies in Paris between 1834 and 1842.