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Emma Lazarus

Emma Lazarus

Emma Lazarus was an American 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 in 1912. The sonnet was solicited by William Maxwell Evarts as a donation 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.

  • Nationality: American
  • Birth Date: 22 July 1849
  • Death Date: 19 Nov 1887
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Individual Passages

The New Colossus
The author discusses the stature and symbolism of soon to be constructed Statue of Liberty in New York City.