Abstract
Anne Bradstreet and family set sail from Southampton, immigrating to the new Colonies in 1630, settling in what would become the United States. In 1761, a young African child crossed the ocean in a slave ship, the Phillis, from which she took her first name. She was alone on the slave auction block when the Wheatley family purchased her to work as a house slave. Both women grew up to become internationally lauded poets; both left an indelible mark on the United States, their legacies taking starkly different directions. The split in this perspective, between the privileged and the less fortunate, divides us today, defining our national conversations about the influence of wealth on local and national elections. Do we favor the wealthy, or those less fortunate, who are equally well-deserving of living a productive life? The American presidential election drew a bold line between the haves and have nots, but more than that, between those who care only about power and those who care about a healthy distribution of power, regardless of economic status. In 2024, the ugly “color line” between citizens and immigrants has emerged—under the present governmental administration, that line has become a dangerous divider that threatens great harm to, and even greater division among, the citizenry. Combining literature and history, I address the oceans of difference that divide Americans, the rich set of opportunities we have to bridge those divides, and the actions we can take to overcome this present wave of neo-populism and neo-nationalism.
Presenters
Linda Nicole BlairTeaching Professor, Culture, Arts, and Communication/School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington, Tacoma, Washington, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, Ocean, Poetry, Freedom, Democracy, Inequality, Families
