Jupiter Hammon (October 17, 1711 – c. 1806)[1] was an American writer who is known as a founder of African-American literature, as his poem published in 1761 in New York was the first by an African American man in North America. He subsequently published both poetry and prose. In addition, he was a preacher and a commercial clerk on Long Island, New York.
Born into slavery at the Lloyd Manor on Long Island,[2][3] Hammon learned to read and write. In 1761, at nearly 50, Hammon published his first poem, "An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries". He was the first African-American poet published in North America.[2] Also a well-known and well-respected preacher and clerk-bookkeeper, he gained wide circulation for his poems about slavery. As a devoted Christian evangelist, Hammon used his biblical foundation to criticize the institution of slavery.[4]
- ^ Kautz, Sarah (October 2018). "The Life and Works of Jupiter Hammon (1711–before 1806)". Preservation Long Island.
- ^ a b Berry, Faith (2001). From Bondage to Liberation. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. p. 50. ISBN 0-8264-1370-6.
- ^ Rollins, Charlemae (1965). Famous American Negro Poets. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co. pp. 15–16. ISBN 0396051294.
- ^ O'Neal, Sondra (1993). Jupiter Hammon and The Biblical Beginnings of African American Literature. The American Theological Library Association and The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 0-8108-2479-5.