Review of "To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth" by Phillis Wheatley

"To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth" by Phillis Wheatley (1753 - 1784) was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on September 15, 2013.  Miss Wheatley, a slave who was allowed an education by her master, Boston merchant John Wheatley, was the first person of African descent to publish a collection of poetry in North America and also the third woman to do so.  The Second Earl of Dartmouth (pictured) was the Secretary of State for the American Colonies from 1772 - 1775 and a prominent abolitionist and philanthropist.

The poem was published in 1773 as a part of a collection entitled, Poems on Various Subjects.  Its heroic couplets are at once a diatribe against slavery and a tribute to a leader who would see it abolished.  For more information, see the following website:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/phillis-wheatley.

Review of "Chorus of the Mothers-Griot" by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

"Chorus of the Mothers-Griot" by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on February 10, 2014.  A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23861.

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (b. 1967) is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Oklahoma.  She has three published books of poetry to her name.  Additional biographical information may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/439?utm_source=PAD%3A+Chorus+of+the+Mothers-Griot+by+Honorée+Fanonne+Jeffers&utm_campaign=poemaday_021014&utm_medium=email.

The poem is dedicated to Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753 - 1784), the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry.  Additional biographical information about her may be found here:  http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/phillis-wheatley.  One of her more famous poems was reviewed in Songs of Eretz on September 15, 2013 http://eretzsongs.blogspot.com/search?q=Phillis+Wheatley.

"Chorus" was inspired by the accomplished poet Lucille Clifton (1936 - 2010).  Biographical information about this poet may be found here:  http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/79.

Jeffers reveals in her notes that a "griot" (pictured) is a sort of West African bard.  The poem represents "encapsulated bits of language"that female black slave speakers might recall from their original African culture.  The bracketing of the lines may indicated that each line is a separate woman's voice.

The poem is arranged as and possibly works as a triptych.  It also is arranged as five separately titled smaller poems.  Read in its entirety, the poem seems disjointed.  Perhaps this is deliberate, meant to represent that only disparate fragments of the lost African culture remain.