Wheat·ley (wētlē, hwēt-), Phillis 1753?-1784.
African-born American poet considered the first widely recognized black writer in America. Her works include Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773).

Phillis Wheatley1773 portrait by Scipio Moorhead (active c. 1773) from the frontispiece of her book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral