“On Various Subjects: 250 Years of Phillis Wheatley,” an exhibit at Memorial Library, celebrates the 250th anniversary of the first book of African American poetry and explores its author’s long legacy. The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), which is housed in the School of Education, loaned six children’s books telling Wheatley’s life story for the exhibit as well as poetry from its Historical Collection.
The books are all works of nonfiction from the 20th century by prominent African-American writers and poets, including Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, Charlemae Hill Rollins, and Lucille Clifton.
The exhibit was curated by UW–Madison professors Brigitte Fielder and Jonathan Senchyne in collaboration with the Center for the History of Print and Digital Culture and the Department of Special Collections in UW–Madison Libraries.
“On Various Subjects: 250 Years of Phillis Wheatley” will be on view through Dec. 22, 2023. The exhibit is open to all, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.