The Collected Poems and Prose of Jupiter Hammon

The Collected Poems and Prose of Jupiter Hammon compiles the works of Jupiter Hammon, America’s first published black writer. When his poem “An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries” appeared in print as a broadside in 1761, Hammon unknowingly changed American literature for generations to come. Born into slavery, Hammon was a highly talented poet and preacher whose subtle criticism of slavery employed Christian symbolism and promoted a vision of salvation through determination and faith in God. In 1786, Hammon gave “An Address to the Negroes in the State of New York” at the inaugural assembly of the African Society of New York City. In it, he proclaimed that “If we should ever get to Heaven, we shall find nobody to reproach us for being black, or for being slaves.” His message of hope and spiritual uplift employed Christian theology while responding to the needs and desires of enslaved African Americans. In “An Address to Miss Phillis Wheatley,” Hammon harnesses