Josephine Lazarus (23 March 1846 - 1910) was an American essayist, book critic, transcendentalist, and

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

Biography

Lazarus was born March 23, 1846, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the daughter of Moses and Esther (Nathan) Lazarus. The first piece of work to bring her into prominent notice was the biographical sketch of her sister,

Emma Lazarus Emma Lazarus (July 22, 1849 – November 19, 1887) was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish and Georgist causes. She is remembered for writing the sonnet " The New Colossus", which was inspire ...

, which first appeared in ''

The Century Magazine ''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associatio ...

'', October, 1888, and was afterward prefixed to “The Poems of Emma Lazarus” (New York and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 1889). Between 1890 and 1893 she wrote articles on

Marie Bashkirtseff Marie Bashkirtseff (born Mariya Konstantinovna Bashkirtseva, russian: Мария Константиновна Башки́рцева; 1858–1884) was a Ukrainian artist from the Russian Empire who worked in Paris, France. She died aged 25. Li ...

in ''

Scribner's Magazine ''Scribner's Magazine'' was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. ''Scribner's Magazine'' was the second magazine out of the Scribner's firm, after the publication of ' ...

'' and on Louisa May Alcott and

Margaret Fuller Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movemen ...

in ''The Century Magazine''. In 1895, six of her essays on Jewish subjects, which had appeared from 1892 to 1895 in ''The Century Magazine'' and '' The Jewish Messenger'' were collected and published in book form under the title ''The Spirit of Judaism''. The plea addressed to Jews in these essays was to acquire a larger knowledge of the Jewish situation, to emerge from their spiritual isolation, and to enter into fellowship with those among whom they live; and the plea addressed to Christians was for a more liberal attitude toward Jews and Jewish thought. Lazarus was a featured speaker at the Jewish Women’s Congress in conjunction with the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

of 1893 with her essay, "The Outlook of Judaism". Between 1897 and 1902 Lazarus wrote, in ''

The American Hebrew ''The American Hebrew'' was a weekly Jewish magazine published in New York City. History It began publication on November 21, 1879, in New York City. It was founded by Frederick de Sola Mendes and its publisher was Philip Cowen. The weekly's ...

'', ''The New World'', and '' The Maccabaean'' four articles on aspects of the

movement, with which she was in sympathy. Besides, she published, in 1899, a book entitled ''Madame Dreyfus''; and for many years she was a contributor of numerous book-notices to ''

The Critic ''The Critic'' was an American primetime adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as writers a ...

''.

References

Attribution

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Josephine Lazarus
at Jewish Women's Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Lazarus, Josephine 1846 births 1910 deaths Writers from New York City American essayists American people of German-Jewish descent American people of Portuguese-Jewish descent American women essayists American Sephardic Jews Jewish American writers Jewish women writers Transcendentalism American Zionists 19th-century American writers 19th-century American women writers