After exhaustive research, author Patricia Thrushart has pulled together the biography and collected works of Sarah Louisa Forten, a young Black poet and essayist writing in the 1830s in Philadelphia. The daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur, she felt the injustice of the racist and segregated city personally, and the plight of the nation’s enslaved keenly. Based on available research, Sarah was only the second African American poet to be published in the United States, after Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784). Her work has never before been pulled together in a single volume. Anticipated publication date: late 2026.
We’re talking with another charitable organization about an anthology of poetry by their members!
