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.