Question

what evidence there is to support the idea that Wheatley's poems marked the beginning of the African American literary tradition.

Answer 1

She was the first African American to have her works published and appreciated, not only in America but also in England. 

Answer 2

Answer:

Phillis Wheatley wrote some of the most remarkable poetry of early American history. In, an era and place in which few women could read, or write.  Probably of even greater note was the fact that Phillis Wheatley's verse was the first ever published by an African-American slave. Wheatley wrote her first poem, about two men who nearly drowned at sea, when she was only 12 years old. As you read this poem, dated 1768, "On Being Brought from Africa to America