THE FEAST OF LIGHTS by EMMA LAZARUS

The Feast of Lights by Emma Lazarus
(BoPress Miniatures, Riverside, CA, 2018)
1 3/4" x 2", 28 pages

Emma Lazarus is best known for her poem engraved on the Statue of Liberty, but she was a prolific writer, translator, and activist. She was born to a wealthy New York family and her growth as a Jewish champion was fired by the horrific Russian pogroms of 1881. Lazarus began to advocate on behalf of indigent Jewish refugees. She was an advocate of a Jewish homeland before the term "Zionism" had even been created. Her literary work was praised by Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Cullen Bryant, and she produced a dazzling body of work before her early death at the age of 38.

The poem "The Feast of Lights" is a battle poem of great energy and romantic power. Since Hanukkah itself is a celebration of liberty, it should come as no surprise that Ms. Lazarus wrote such a wonderful poem about the holiday.

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Pat Sweet and the Bo Press make miniature illustrated books, maps, portfolios, journals, miniature library furniture, globes, and other small curiosities. Subjects range from fans to werewolves to mathematics, but have common themes of curiosity, wonder, mystery, and delight. Member of the Miniature Book Society and IGMA.

Text and Images from Pat Sweet and Bo Press