Biography of 18th century poet Phillis Wheatley is winner of George Washington Prize

NEW YORK (AP) — The author of a new biography of poet Phillis Wheatley has received a $50,000 history award. David Waldstreicher’s “The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journey Through American Slavery and Independence” has won the George Washington Prize. The award honors works arising from the Revolutionary War era. Wheatley was the first American Black woman to publish a book and was among the most famous writers of her time. The Washington prize is presented by Washington College, the Gilder Lehman Institute of American History and by the maintainers of Washington’s home in Mount Vernon, Virginia.