The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Vol. II

by Emma Lazarus

Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) was an American poet. She is best known for writing The New Colossus, a sonnet written in 1883, that is now engraved on a bronze plaque on a wall in the base of the Statue of Liberty. She studied American and European literature, as well as German, French, and Italian. Her writings attracted the attention of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who corresponded with her up until his death. She wrote her own original poems and edited many adaptations of German and Italian poems, notably those of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Heinrich Heine. She also wrote a novel and two plays. Lazarus' latent Judaism was awakened after reading the George Eliot novel, Daniel Deronda, and this was further strengthened by the Russian pogroms in the early 1880s. This led Lazarus to write articles on the subject and to begin translating the works of Jewish poets into English. She is known as an important forerunner of the Zionist movement. In fact, she argued for the creation of a Jewish homeland thirteen years before Herzl began to use the term Zionism.

Genres: Poetry

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

Emma Lazarus was an American Jewish poet born in New York City.

She is best known for "The New Colossus", a sonnet written in 1883; its lines appear on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty placed in 1903. The sonnet was written for and donated to an auction, conducted by the "Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty" to raise funds to build the pedestal.

She died of Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Reviews

[Juli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am truly enjoying the poetry of Emma Lazarus. I pick it and read it from time to time. her style is classical. her words are beautifully chosen. one of my favorite lines:

"In two divided streams the exiles part,
one rolling homeward to its ancient source.
one rushing sunward with fresh will, new heart. By each the truth is spread, the law unfurled. Each seperate soul contains the nation's force. And both embrace the world."

just beautiful imagery.