(11:11am Jan 6, 2012)

You might know the name Emma Lazarus from the following lines of poetry that adorn the Statue of Liberty:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

But at 92nd Street Y, we know her as a former English language teacher. Learn more about 92Y’s history in this great photographic timeline we’ve put together.

Turns out that Lazarus taught English to Russian immigrants at 92Y’s downtown branch in 1883 – the same year that she penned the famous sonnet “The New Colossus” – the very words that serve as Lady Liberty’s voice. That’s one small detail — and one of the few details of her life – that you won’t find in the smashing review from The New York Times earlier this week, of the Emma Lazarus exhibit now on view at (Lower Manhattan’s) Museum of Jewish Heritage.

If you haven’t read the review yet, you can do so here.

Speaking of impressive poetry, you might also enjoy browsing the Virtual Poetry Center of 92Y. There you’ll find archival recordings from Kurt Vonnegut, Saul Bellow, Adrienne Rich and more.