In 1866, her father privately printed her work, and in 1867, her first collection of poems, Poems and Translations appeared from commercial press. This caught the attention of well known writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Lazarus published more works such as her second volume of poetry, Admentus and other poems in 1871, Alide: An Episode in Goethe’s Life” in 1874 and a play in verse The Spagnoletto in 1876. In 1880, she was inspired to look more into her Jewish heritage after reading Daniel Deronda written by George Eliot, joining the fight against the persecution of Jews in America. She wrote through poetry and prose publishing a Polemical Pamphlet The Century and Songs of a Semite: The Dance to Death and other Poems in 1882. Through this, she gained her love for writing as a teen and grew to be one of the most successful Jewish American writers, publishing and translating German poetry in the 1860’s.

When Lazarus wrote the poem, she was working to help Jews in Russia escape persecution and come to America - the plight and the struggle of immigrants was always in her mind.Born Jin New York City into a wealthy family, Emma Lazarus was educated by private tutors. The daughter of wealthy Sephardic Jews, her roots could be traced back to the first Jewish immigrants to this country. Lazarus wrote “The New Colossus” in 1883, to raise money for the construction of the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty.

It’s an amazing reminder of the wonderful diversity of this country - and the beauty of the many languages spoken in it. The video, published by district Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, features verses read in more than a dozen different languages, from Chinese to Polish to Spanish to Hindi, American Sign Language, and Greek. Residents of New York’s 14th Congressional District, which spans from Queens to the Bronx and is one of the most diverse districts in the country, have recorded a powerful, socially distant version of the poem. On this recent pandemic 4th of July - not far from where the statue looks out over New York Harbor, inviting nations to “Give me your tired your poor/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” - a diverse group of immigrants and their descendants recorded a moving, multilingual version of the poem. It’s been over a century since Jewish poet Emma Lazarus‘ iconic sonnet, “The New Colossus,” was inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

Lazarus emma the new colossus