Lucy Terry Prince
Published: 7/21/2021 3:20:26 PM
Sharp-eyed readers of the July 10 Recorder article on the Lucy Terry Prince Day in Deerfield, Margaret Freeman and the Rev. Dr. Smith-Penniman, are correct. Phillis Wheatley is indeed the first published in print African American poet, not Lucy Terry.
The Recorder’s headline for the article was in error leading into the story with the words “Lucy Terry Prince Day to celebrate first published Black poet.” Staff writer DomenicPoli, who interviewed me and did further research on his own, early on in his article accurately identified Lucy Terry as “the first known African American poet in English literature…”