My project examines Latin verse epitaphs dedicated to enslaved and emancipated persons in the ancient Roman world, dating from the first century BCE to the fourth century CE and originating from across the empire. It also considers the more canonical literary texts written to commemorate persons from these social groups, including poems by Lucilius, Martial, and Statius. My intervention is twofold. First, I aim to strengthen our understanding of verse epitaphs qua poetry, showing how they constituted a literary practice that engaged with, but was fundamentally distinct from, the canon. Second, I seek to illuminate the ideological dynamics of epigraphic and literary poems, showing that both provided a forum in which contrasting perspectives on slavery could be articulated. While slaveholders typically advanced a benevolent and paternalistic model of slavery with commemorative poetry, enslaved and emancipated persons challenged this model and gave voice to their own experiences.