Jupiter Hammon and the biblical beginnings of African-American literature

Abstract

This critical edition of the works of Jupiter Hammon, the first black writer in America, modernized for 20th-century readers, includes vital background on Jupiter Hammon's life and times. Lack of information on striking similarities between northern slavery (particularly in Hammon's home state, New York) and the southern colonies, and on the slaves' survival strategies, has led to misinterpretation and lack of evaluation of works by 18th-century slave writers like Hammon, Wheatley, Occum, Equiano, and others. Equally important is the explication of Biblical symbolism that these writers used in surreptitious code to inspire rebellion against slavery.