Film Screening & Talkback: In Search of Phillis Wheatley Peters

Join us for the screening of "In Search of Phillis Wheatley," a documentary about poet Phillis Wheatley Peters and her fight for autonomy, dignity, and survival in Revolutionary-era Boston.

Discover the story that history left out. In Search of Phillis Wheatley Peters is a documentary driven by new research that uncovers a largely unknown chapter in the life of Phillis Wheatley Peters — America’s first Black published poet — revealing the remarkable love story between Phillis and John Peters, the free Black man she married in 1778.

Grounded in the groundbreaking archival work of Cornelia Dayton, the film brings newly unearthed documents to light, offering fresh insight into the couple’s fight for autonomy, dignity, and survival in Revolutionary-era Boston. Through the voices of leading scholars and poets — including Vincent Carretta, Nicole Aljoe, Manisha Sinha, Kabria Baumgartner, and Joanne Gabbin — the film reimagines Phillis not only as a literary icon, but as a woman who chose love, partnership, and resistance against extraordinary odds.

Registration is requested.

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