The Final Jeopardy question (10/5/2012) in the category “Poetry” was:

Her most famous poem was written for a December 1883 art & literary auction to benefit the Pedestal Fund.

Brendan O’Connor is our new champ. He won $11,201 in yesterday’s game. Today he faces off against these two players: Jeff Huong, from Sandy Springs, GA and  Mike Lonesky, from Clinton, NY.

Jeff found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “A Colorful Category.” He was in third place with $800, $600 behind Brendan in the lead. He bet the $1,000 allowance and he was RIGHT.

This patriot militia was established in 1770 in present-day Bennington, Vermont. show

WHO ARE THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS?

Mike finished in the lead with $5,000. Jeff was second with $1,800 and Brendan was last with $1,800.

Mike found the first Double Jeopardy Daily Double in “A River Runs To It.” He was clobbering the competition and was now in the lead with $12,200, $9,400 more than Jeff in second place. He bet $1,200 and guessed it was the Black Sea. That was WRONG.

The Vistula: this sea. show

WHAT IS THE BALTIC SEA?

Mike found the last Daily Double in “African-American Inventors,” a video category with the clues being read by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He now had $15,000, a $9,200 lead over Brendan in second place. He bet a mere $400 (which Alex said would disappoint Kareem), and he was RIGHT.

Dr. Charles Drew saved the lives of soldiers & civilians in WWII when he improved blood banks by finding a long-term storage method for this blood liquid. show

WHAT IS PLASMA?

Mike finished in the lead with a runaway $15,400. Brendan was next with $5,800 and Jeff was right behind him with $5,600.

NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHO IS EMMA LAZARUS?

The Pedestal Fund Art Loan Exhibition was a New York fund-raising event on behalf of the American Committee of the Franco-American Union to raise funds for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty “held in December 1883…. On exhibit were more than two hundred paintings by European and American artists, sculpture, stained glass, ivory carvings, lace, glass jewelry and ‘aboriginal art’ by American Indians — all from private collections, There was even the original telegram sent by Samuel Morse—“What hath God wrought”—and the key to the City of London given to General Ulysses S. Grant. There was also a poem by an emerging young New York poet, Emma Lazarus.” (Tippecanoe and Tyler Too: Famous Slogans and Catchphrases in American History)

The 34-year-old Lazarus’ work would be in the company of the likes of Mark Twain, Walt Whitman and Bret Harte, but she initially declined, saying she did not write ‘on demand.’ Upon her friend Constance Cary Harrison’s urging, she penned the poem “The New Colossus” that contains the famous words:

GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR / YOUR HUDDLED MASSES.

Lazarus died 5 years later at age 38. In 1901, another friend, Georgina Schuyler, campaigned to memorialize the poet and her poem. In 1903, a plaque with the poem’s text was mounted on the inner wall of Lady Liberty’s pedestal.

Jeff thought it was Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who died in 1861. She is most well-known for her How Do I Love Thee sonnet. That cost him $5,000 and he finished with $600.

Brendan thought it was Emily Dickinson, who was alive but not well-known as a poet in her lifetime. He lost $1,337, finishing with $4,463.

Mike wrote down Ezra Pound, a male poet who was born in 1885. Mike didn’t disappoint us with his $999 bet — we were expecting a modest amount – so he won the game with $14,401.

Stellar playing, Mike!