Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

A celebration of our nation's melting pot, this beautifully illustrated origin story of the Statue of Liberty honors a poet who has advocated for the voiceless.

"Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . . " In 1883, Emma Lazarus, deeply moved by an influx of immigrants from eastern Europe, wrote a sonnet that gave a voice to the Statue of Liberty. Originally a gift from France to celebrate our shared national struggles for liberty, the statue, thanks to Emma's poem, came to define us as a nation that welcomes immigrants. The text of that now famous poem, "The New Colossus," appears in this free-verse biography, illustrated in an exquisite folk art style. The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus has been selected as a Common Core Text Exemplar (Grades 4-5, Poetry)