Douglas A. Jones, Jr., Associate Professor of English and Assistant Dean of Humanities at Rutgers University, and Lauren Brincat, Curator for Preservation Long Island recently discussed the printed works and milieu of 18th-century enslaved poet Jupiter Hammon at the Grolier Club, America’s oldest and largest society for bibliophiles that promotes the “study, collecting, and appreciation of books and works on paper”. The Jupiter Hammon lecture that took place at the Club on October 4, 2021 is now available for online viewing.
One of America’s earliest published Black authors, Hammon was born on the colonial estate of Henry Lloyd on Long Island and served four generations of the Lloyd family, living into his 90s. He spent his later years at the Joseph Lloyd Manor, in modern-day Lloyd Harbor (and now overseen by Preservation Long Island), where his best-known works were written. Hammon’s works, among few examples of literature and historical documents from the 18th century written from an enslaved person’s viewpoint, offer an exceptionally nuanced view of Black life in America during and after British rule.
Visit the Jupiter Hammon Project pages on our website to explore the legacy of slavery on Long Island and the life of Jupiter Hammon.
Click on the image below to watch the Jupiter Hammon Grolier Club lecture.
