|
The CHPDC and the Friends of UW-Madison Libraries invite you to attend this year's Schewe Lecture by Tara Bynum, exploring the letters Phillis Wheatley wrote to her friend, another enslaved young woman in New England, Obour Tanner. The talk is in conjunction with this autumn's exhibit in Memorial Library Special Collections, On Various Subjects: 250 Years of Phillis Wheatley. It is free and open to the public and campus community!
Bynum was drawn to Tanner and Wheatley’s correspondence while a graduate student. “At the time – in graduate school – I hadn’t been able to imagine that this kind of correspondence could exist,” Bynum recalls. Also surprising was the content of Tanner and Wheatley’s correspondence:
They didn’t write about what I expected them to write; their correspondence wasn’t about ‘resistance,’ enslavement or what I expected in the 21st century. They wrote about what mattered to them. And what mattered to them was their friendship, the war (that would later be called revolutionary), their Christian God, and the sale of Wheatley’s books. There’s something like gossip too that they share.
The friendship that existed and the value Tanner and Wheatley placed on their friendship is evident in their letters. In Bynum’s mind, this valued friendship is the most significant thing to know about Tanner and Wheatley. Bynum notes friendship for those outside the relationship is “elusive to pin down, especially in the ‘archive,’” which speaks to more significant issues of utilizing archival resources. Regardless, friendship, Bynum says, is present in their letters, and the care, compassion, and humanity on display is significant to the individuals involved and the fledgling nation:
These women demonstrate in their letters is how much they care for each other. Documenting this care is essential. There’s a story there that has something to teach us about what matters to black people and how they matter to each other. That they matter has always informed the makings of the USA.
For posterity’s sake, this valued friendship contributed to the archived correspondence, which allows, 250 years later, new generations to appreciate life in colonial North America, specifically Black life during this period. Examining Tanner and Wheatley’s correspondence offers an opportunity to explore aspects of Black life, including friendship between enslaved persons, and elevate these experiences that are, even today, infrequently discussed.
The lecture is free and open to the public. It is funded by the Friends of UW-Madison Libraries Schewe Endowment, the Center for the History of Print and Digital Culture, and the Anonymous Fund through the University Lectures committee. You may RSVP at the button below to let the organizers know you're coming and/or to get a recording of the talk afterward.
|
