Season 4, Episode 2. Small Island: A Conversation with Drexel University Professor Sheila Sandapen About Literary Treasures of Black British Literature, and the Post-Colonial British Experience
When you step inside Treasures from the Rosenbach’s Collection: Literature of Great Britain and Ireland, two of the first people you will see are Phillis Wheatley and Charles Ignatius Sancho, both of whom were born slaves but ended up becoming important published authors. Their works offered critiques of the British imperial project and enslavement in America. The Rosenbach holds copies of important editions of their books today.
Wheatley and Sancho are pivotal early figures in Black British literature. In this episode of The Rosenbach Podcast, Professor Sheila Sandapen of Drexel University introduces us to some of the key themes shaping postcolonial Black British literature and makes a few suggestions as to authors and book titles for those who wish to explore the subject.
Would you like learn more about Sancho, Wheatley, and other figures in British literature? Reserve a Rosenbach introductory tour ticket today! Or visit us during open hours and purchase a gallery and garden ticket.
About the Guest Presenter
Born in the UK, Sheila Sandapen now lives and teaches in the Philadelphia area. In her work, she sees a clear nexus between literature, popular culture, and the way we live now. She teaches and studies British literature and contemporary cultural studies in the UK with an emphasis on South Asian and Caribbean British female writers.