(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.

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.

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 ...