Poet Phillis Wheatley honored on Jan. 29 stamp in Black Heritage series

By David Hartwig

On Jan. 29 in Boston, Mass., the United States Postal Service honors Phillis Wheatley, the first author of African descent in the American colonies to publish a book, with a commemorative forever stamp issued in panes of 20 as part of its Black Heritage series.

An official first-day ceremony for the nondenominated (78¢) commemorative forever stamp picturing Wheatley will be held Jan. 29 at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time at the Old South Meeting House, 310 Washington St., in Boston.

Wheatley was baptized at the Old South Meeting House, which is also the second-oldest establishment still in existence in the United States.

Collectors desiring to attend the ceremony should register online in advance with the Postal Service at www.usps.com/philliswheatleystamp.

The importance of Phillis Wheatley (ca. 1753–1784) in American literary history rests not only on her status as the first African American poet to publish a book, but on the fact that her work represents some of the earliest published American writings regardless of race or gender.

Wheatley’s 1773 book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, includes hymns, elegies, philosophical reflections and narrative poems. Published in London, it brought her fame both in England and in the American colonies. …

Known often as “the mother of African American literature,” Wheatley rooted her poetry in the neoclassical conventions of her time, drawing on biblical, classical and moral themes while demonstrating her command of language and form.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica discusses how critics and scholars have noted that her work as a whole became a touchstone for African American writers, influencing generations of poets and authors, shaping early American literary history, and providing an example of intellectual and artistic achievement despite the constraints of enslavement.

Antonio Alcala, an art director for the Postal Service, teamed up with Kerry James Marshall to design the new stamp honoring Wheatley. Marshall, an artist known for large-scale paintings of African American life and history, depicted Wheatley on a black-and-white, ink-on-paper portrait and imagined the poet later in life. …

Two pictorial first-day cancels for the Phillis Wheatley stamp are being offered by the Postal Service, one in black and the other in color. The black postmark is applied free, up to a quantity of 50, to most collector-submitted covers. There is a 5¢ charge for each additional postmark over 50.

The black postmark features the text “PHILLIS WHEATLEY” in two horizontal lines. The words “FIRST DAY OF ISSUE” appear on two lines of smaller print next to “PHILLIS” in the top line. Below “WHEATLEY” are the issue date and location separated by a horizontal line above and below.

The color postmark features a variation of the same design with sheets of paper in the background. The color postmark can be obtained by collectors on envelopes made from laser-safe paper.

Standard ordering instructions apply. Collectors requesting first-day cancels are encouraged to purchase their own stamps and affix them to envelopes. The first-day cover envelopes should be addressed for return (a removable label may be used) and mailed in a larger envelope addressed to FDOI — Phillis Wheatley Stamp, USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services, 8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64144-9900.

USPS item numbers for stamps and FDCs appear in Linn’s 2026 U.S. Stamp Program when they become available.

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