Emma Lazarus: Selected Poems

Emma Lazarus

ISBN 10: 1931082774 / ISBN 13: 9781931082778

Published by The Library of America, US, 2005

About this Item

Seller Inventory # LU-9781931082778

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Emma Lazarus: Selected Poems
• Publisher: The Library of America, US
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1931082774
• ISBN 13: 9781931082778
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 218 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The first important American Jewish poet, Emma Lazarus is remembered above all for her classic sonnet "The New Colossus," whose phrases ("Give me your tired, your poor.") have become part of the American language. In this new selection of Lazarus's work, John Hollander demonstrates that in her relatively brief life she achieved real poetic mastery in a variety of modes.

In early poems like "Phantasies" and "Symphonic Studies," she explored fluently imagined inner landscapes suggested by the music of Schumann. Later, her deepening interest in Jewish history and culture was expressed in such powerful poems as "1492," "The New Ezekiel," and "The Guardian of the Red Disk." Influenced both by American models, among them her poetic mentor Emerson, and by the poets whose work she translated, including Heinrich Heine and the medieval Hebrew poets Solomon Ibn Gabirol and Judah ha-Levi, she forged a poetic style of high technical accomplishment and moral passion.

Long neglected, her work is revealed in this volume as an important contribution to American poetry.

About the American Poets Project
Elegantly designed in compact editions, printed on acid-free paper, and textually authoritative, the American Poets Project makes available the full range of the American poetic accomplishment, selected and introduced by today's most discerning poets and critics.

About the Author

John Hollander (1929-2013) published nearly two dozen books of poetry, including Selected Poetry (1993), Figurehead(1999), and A Draft of Light (2008), as well as five books of criticism. He received the Bollingen Prize and a MacArthur Fellowship, and was a Sterling Professor Emeritus of English at Yale University.