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…”
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To the Editor: On Sunday, July 11th, a group of more than 30 area residents gathered outside Sunderlandâs Town Hall to commemorate the Bicentennial of Lucy Terry Princeâs death in the town of Sunderland.
For readers who do not know the Lucy Prince Story, she was a former slave, brought to New England from Africa as a young child. Through her engrossing poem âBars Fightâ (1746), sheâs in our American history books as the first known African American poet. In addition to being a poet and a powerful storyteller, she was an eloquent advocate for equal treatment under the law, having defended her familyâs rights all the way up to the Vermont Supreme Court. Her husband, Abijah, was a free man and entrepreneurial landowner who, with his family, for many years, lived in Guilford. He was also one of the original land proprietors in Sunderland. The couple raised six children and, after Abijahâs death i