Why is it everyone gets so tired when we have to change the clock forward? I can vouch for myself--I feel like someone let the air out of me today. Maybe it is in part because of the letdown from yesterday's talk. Even with the low turnout, I feel it was a success. Sadly, not many folks turned out to hear about our beloved Emma Lazarus. The discussion we all had afterward dissected the reasons, all speculative, of course. The time change, the lack of interest in life of Emma Lazarus, the lack of interest in me, the weather and overcast skies--you name it, we discussed it. We human love to know why. Why our expectations have not been met.
But I went into the talk with no expectations. Let me correct myself. I went in with only one expectation that I would do my best to convey to whomever wanted to hear, the importance of this woman to history--our collective American history as well as her impact as a female, a poet and a Jew.
Her story is actually everyone's story. Her short life (she died at 38) was a continual discovery into her own identity--coming to terms with the sometimes disparate aspects of her personhood in a time yet to break free from the oppressive reins of Victorianism.
Hopefully there will be another opportunity for me to talk about her. It's one way I can contribute to making sure her memory helps secure her a place in our current conversation.
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