Norwich - Most Americans probably don't know her name, but they can quote her most famous piece of poetry from lessons learned in grade school.

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," prominent 19th-century Jewish poet and human rights activist Emma Lazarus wrote in her 1883 poem, "The New Colossus." The words are inscribed on a plaque at the Statue of Liberty.

Lazarus' name will be reunited with her famous words in a new traveling exhibition, "Emma Lazarus: Voice of Liberty, Voice of Conscience," developed by the nonprofit group Nextbook and put on tour by the American Library Association Public Programs office.

The Edwin H. Land Library at Norwich Free Academy has been selected as one of 25 exhibition venues nationwide, the only high school setting and the only Connecticut location to host the exhibition.

The school will use the exhibition as the centerpiece for a nearly two-month celebration of Lazarus' work, Jewish poets and filmmakers and the American immigration experience.

"Lazarus' passion for justice inspires Americans today to continue her work on behalf of immigrants and the poor," Land Library Director Kristie Leonard said. "The exhibit will present a more thorough look at Emma Lazarus and the ways in which she sustained and shaped America's founding principles."

The traveling exhibition, curated by Lazarus' biographer Esther Schor, will feature panel boards of text and historical images describing her accomplishments and highlighting her poetry and advocacy for human rights and her campaign against anti-Semitism. A fourth-generation American in a prominent New York City family, Lazarus championed training and educating refugees as they started their new lives in America.

James Landherr, NFA director of research and strategic partnerships, wrote the application for NFA that landed the exhibition. Landherr said it is a perfect fit for a school and city with such a diverse ethnic population of new and old immigrant families. French Canadians still live in the Taftville village where their fathers and grandfathers settled; Haitians come to Norwich today in the hopes of reuniting with family already here and to find better opportunity.

Landherr's own family came from Germany.

"Norwich has always been home to immigrants, so it's perfect," Landherr said. "We have new immigrants, but it's always been that way. This whole thing resonates with what we are. It's just different places where people are coming from today."

To bring the local experience into the exhibition, the exhibition will include a large bulletin board with thumb tacks and index cards. "What is Your Story?" the heading reads on what is currently a big blank space.

Students, their families, teachers and visitors to the exhibit will be encouraged to write their own immigration stories for the display.

Artifacts collected from NFA staff and their families will enhance the exhibition. NFA has also obtained a 1903 clip filmed by moving picture pioneer Thomas Edison showing immigrants arriving at Ellis Island.

The opening reception, at 6 p.m. Thursday, will feature keynote speaker Avinoam Patt, an expert on Jewish history, modern Europe and Israeli history, as well as a video on immigration narrated by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.

The Jewish film festival is the only event with an admission charge - suggested at $5 for adults, free for students - and will feature a wide variety of films, including a Claymation production and films from Australia and Brazil.

To celebrate Lazarus' art of poetry, the Land Library will host an evening of Jewish poetry on Nov. 9 with award-winning poets Richard Michelson and Sonya Taaffe, both of Massachusetts. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

c.bessette@theday.com

If you go

"Emma Lazarus: Voice of Liberty, Voice of Conscience," a national traveling exhibit, comes to Norwich Free Academy Oct. 27 through Dec. 16, Edwin H. Land Library, Norwich Free Academy, 305 Broadway, Norwich.

• Opening Program: 6 p.m. on Oct. 27. Free and open to the public.

• Night of Jewish Poets and Poetry: 7 p.m. on Nov. 9. Free and open to the public.

• Jewish Film Festival: 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 7, 14, 21 and 28 and Dec. 5 and 12, Sidney Frank Center, NFA campus. Suggested donation $5 for adults, free for students.

• Exhibition hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Closed Thanksgiving weekend.