Phillis Wheatley

I'm a Words With Friends player. They have themed robot games, with a new roster of robots on a weekly basis. 

This week the theme is Black European Heroes, where you are "playing" famous black Europeans. Alexandre Dumas is one. He was, indeed, part black. As was Alexander Pushkin, who did not make it into this particular list of luminaries. 

But you know who made the cut? Phillis Wheatley. This startled me, because, as a rule she is counted as African American, not European. Born in Africa. Died in America. But her book of poems was published in England. And that's about as close to European as you can get her. 

If you say that Phillis Wheatley 

Wrote cleverly and sweetly, 

I'm readily agreeing. 

But calling her European 

Is something I'm not seeing.