Emma Lazarus, 1872 / T. Johnson and W. Kurtz [Public domain], via
On a day like today, November 19th, Emma
Lazarus died. She was a great American poet from the late 1800s best known for
her famous sonnet, “The New Colossus”. The poem was written for the Statue of Liberty and it was engraved on a bronze plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
Even
though Emma Lazarus died young, at just 38 years old, she is a figure worth to
remember. She was raised in high society New York, in a cultured family of
Spanish Jewish decent. From an early age she was taught multiple languages and
exposed to classic works of literature. She eventually became a writer, and by
her 30s she had written over 50 poems. Her first book, Poems and Translations, was even praised by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
As
much as she enjoyed and excelled in the writing arts, this was not her only
passion. During her short lifetime, she left a legacy of love and compassion by
being an advocate of underserved populations. As stated in the Encyclopedia
Britannica (2018), the United States was dealing with a great number immigrants
from Europe and Russia, and amongst these where Jews. She took it upon herself
to become a spokesperson for Jewish refugees, and talked about their hardships
in her writing. She would often leave her home to go visit their communities.
During those trips she witnessed their poor living conditions, and did her best
to help bring attention to such problems through her words. It wasn’t until
after her death, that her sonnet “The New Colossus” became famous. The poem was
intentionally written as an auction piece to raise money to build the pedestal
on which the Statue of Liberty would stand.
The New Colossus
Not like the
brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering
limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our
sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman
with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned
lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide
welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged
harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep,
ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled
masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched
refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the
homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside
the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus
November 2, 1883
Library
Resources
If you wish to know more
about her writings, life and legacy, the Dick Smith Library has many resources
to offer. Below are some suggestions of books along with their call numbers:
1 1. Emma Lazarus, by Esther Eschor
2. The
art of the sonnet / Stephen Burt, David Mikics
3. Liberty's voice : the story of Emma
Lazarus / Erica Silverman ; illustrated by Stacey Schuett
Children’s
Book
4. Emma's poem : the voice of the Statue
of Liberty / by Linda Glaser ; with paintings by Claire A. Nivola
Children’s
Book
For students majoring in
Education that wish to include the story of Emma Lazarus in their curriculum, I
was able to find programming ideas for students and younger audiences in the
American Library Association website. Below is the link:
References
Emma
Lazarus. (2018). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from
https://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/Emma-Lazarus/47448
Emma
Lazarus, Poetry Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/emma-lazarus
