<Tr> <Th> Spouse </Th> <Td> John Peters </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Children </Th> <Td> Three </Td> </Tr> <P> Phillis Wheatley, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly (c. 1753--December 5, 1784) was the first published African - American female poet . Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America . She was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, who taught her to read and write and encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent . </P> <P> The publication of her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773) brought her fame both in England and the American colonies . Figures such as George Washington praised her work . During Wheatley's visit to England with her master's son, African - American poet Jupiter Hammon praised her work in his own poem . Wheatley was emancipated (set free) shortly after the publication of her book . She married in about 1778 . Two of her children died as infants . After her husband was imprisoned for debt in 1784, Wheatley fell into poverty and died of illness, quickly followed by the death of her surviving infant son . </P>

Who was the first african american female writer