How does an enslaved African woman learn to read and write, become a prolific poet and earn recognition from a renowned general and future first president of the United States? Malaspina's brief account is evocative and uncomplicated. Her portrayal of both Washington’s battles on the field and Wheatley’s struggles on the home front illustrate the essential irony of the American Revolution. The fact that the colonists were at once fighting for their freedom from England and depriving Africans of theirs is one of the great hypocrisies of American history. The text addresses it, but the emphasis is placed on Washington's and Wheatley's twin triumphs, he in liberating Boston and she in publishing her poems. It ends on a high note, leaving Wheatley's descent into poverty and early death to an author's note (to which is appended the 1772 authentication of Wheatley's authorship). Keeter’s illustrations depict the depth of character of the individuals and the hardships and challenges of their environments. (bibliography) (Picture book. 6-10)
