What do you think?
Rate this book
Look Back In Joy
Book by
Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
7 people want to read
About the author
Malcolm Boyd
29 books4 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
Malcolm Boyd was an American Episcopal priest and author. He was one of the prominent white clergymen in the American Civil Rights Movement in the 60s as well as the anti-Vietnam War movement. In 1977 Boyd came out of the closet, becoming the most prominent gay clergy person to come out. In the 1980s Boyd met the gay activist and author Mark Thompson, who would become his long-time partner. He is the author of more than 30 books.
Crisis in Communication (Doubleday, 1957)
Christ and Celebrity Gods (Seabury, 1958)
Focus: Rethinking the Meaning of Our Evangelism (Morehouse-Barlow, 1960)
If I Go Down to Hell (Morehouse-Barlow, 1962)
The Hunger, the Thirst (Morehouse-Barlow, 1964)
Are You Running with Me, Jesus? (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965/40th anniversary edition, 2005), became a bestseller
Free to Live, Free to Die (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1967)
Malcolm Boyd's Book of Days (Random House, 1968)
The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Stone and Other Fables (Harper & Row, 1969)
As I Live and Breathe (Random House, 1969)
My Fellow Americans (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970)
Human Like Me, Jesus (Simon and Schuster, 1971)
The Lover (Word Books, 1972)
The Runner (Word Books, 1974)
The Alleluia Affair (Word Books, 1975)
Christian: Its Meanings in an Age of Future Shock (Hawthorn, 1975)
Am I Running with You, God? (Doubleday, 1977)
Take Off the Masks (Doubleday, 1978; rev. ed. HarperCollins 1993, White Crane Books 2008)
Look Back in Joy (Gay Sunshine Press, 1981; rev. ed. Alyson, 1990)
Half Laughing, Half Crying (St. Martin's Press, 1986)
Gay Priest: An Inner Journey (St. Martin's Press, 1986)
Edges, Boundaries and Connections (Broken Moon Press, 1992)
Rich with Years: Daily Meditations on Growing Older (HarperCollins, 1994)
Go Gentle Into That Good Night (Genesis Press, 1998)
Simple Grace: A Mentor's Guide to Growing Older (Westminster John Knox, 2001)
Prayers for the Later Years (Augsburg, 2002)
A Prophet in His Own Land: The Malcolm Boyd Reader (edited by Bo Young/Dan Vera) (White Crane Books, 2008)
Edited by Malcolm Boyd
On the Battle Lines: A Manifesto for Our Times (Morehouse-Barlow, 1964)
The Underground Church (Sheed & Ward, 1968)
When in the Course of Human Events (with Paul Conrad, Sheed & Ward, 1973)
Amazing Grace: Stories of Lesbian and Gay Faith (with Nancy L. Wilson, Crossing Press, 1991)
Race & Prayer: Collected Voices, Many Dreams (w/Chester Talton, Morehouse, 2003)
In Times Like These…How We Pray (with J. Jon Bruno, Seabury, 2005)
Malcolm Boyd was an American Episcopal priest and author. He was one of the prominent white clergymen in the American Civil Rights Movement in the 60s as well as the anti-Vietnam War movement. In 1977 Boyd came out of the closet, becoming the most prominent gay clergy person to come out. In the 1980s Boyd met the gay activist and author Mark Thompson, who would become his long-time partner. He is the author of more than 30 books.
Crisis in Communication (Doubleday, 1957)
Christ and Celebrity Gods (Seabury, 1958)
Focus: Rethinking the Meaning of Our Evangelism (Morehouse-Barlow, 1960)
If I Go Down to Hell (Morehouse-Barlow, 1962)
The Hunger, the Thirst (Morehouse-Barlow, 1964)
Are You Running with Me, Jesus? (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965/40th anniversary edition, 2005), became a bestseller
Free to Live, Free to Die (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1967)
Malcolm Boyd's Book of Days (Random House, 1968)
The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Stone and Other Fables (Harper & Row, 1969)
As I Live and Breathe (Random House, 1969)
My Fellow Americans (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970)
Human Like Me, Jesus (Simon and Schuster, 1971)
The Lover (Word Books, 1972)
The Runner (Word Books, 1974)
The Alleluia Affair (Word Books, 1975)
Christian: Its Meanings in an Age of Future Shock (Hawthorn, 1975)
Am I Running with You, God? (Doubleday, 1977)
Take Off the Masks (Doubleday, 1978; rev. ed. HarperCollins 1993, White Crane Books 2008)
Look Back in Joy (Gay Sunshine Press, 1981; rev. ed. Alyson, 1990)
Half Laughing, Half Crying (St. Martin's Press, 1986)
Gay Priest: An Inner Journey (St. Martin's Press, 1986)
Edges, Boundaries and Connections (Broken Moon Press, 1992)
Rich with Years: Daily Meditations on Growing Older (HarperCollins, 1994)
Go Gentle Into That Good Night (Genesis Press, 1998)
Simple Grace: A Mentor's Guide to Growing Older (Westminster John Knox, 2001)
Prayers for the Later Years (Augsburg, 2002)
A Prophet in His Own Land: The Malcolm Boyd Reader (edited by Bo Young/Dan Vera) (White Crane Books, 2008)
Edited by Malcolm Boyd
On the Battle Lines: A Manifesto for Our Times (Morehouse-Barlow, 1964)
The Underground Church (Sheed & Ward, 1968)
When in the Course of Human Events (with Paul Conrad, Sheed & Ward, 1973)
Amazing Grace: Stories of Lesbian and Gay Faith (with Nancy L. Wilson, Crossing Press, 1991)
Race & Prayer: Collected Voices, Many Dreams (w/Chester Talton, Morehouse, 2003)
In Times Like These…How We Pray (with J. Jon Bruno, Seabury, 2005)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 18, 2015
Malcolm Boyd was an American priest in the Anglican/Episcopalian Church. He started his career working in Hollywood, then entered the priesthood, participated in the civil rights movement, and came out as gay in the seventies.
He was fearless or at least he found a way to deal with his fears, because coming out when in the priesthood was not easy especially in the seventies.
Revd Boyd was also a prolific writer and poet.
This book contains a series of reflections about Malcom's past loves. I suppose he wrote these as a way of expressing what it means to love as a gay man. His reflections are short and illustrate his passion, his loneliness and frustration but also his joy and immense capacity to love and be loved.
In an indirect way we get to see how Malcolm also touched the lives of men who met him, some of whom were clergy or involved in the church, many of whom were deeply closeted and sometimes married to women. His writing shows the complexity of being gay at a time when it was unaccepted in society, and the challenge of sustaining stable and loving relationships when society condemned such relationships.
As I read this I could feel the shame and fear of those men and also the joy, courage and strength of Malcolm Boyd and his willingness and struggle to be both honest and open. He seemed to have had so many relationships and encounters and I did wonder why, but I suppose for such a prominent and gifted person making these connections was very much a part of who he was because of the very nature of his work and ministry, and because of his charisma.
Revd Malcolm Boyd passed away earlier this year at the age of 91 but he lived a very full life and his life has spanned the era of change. He saw change through his activity in the Civil Rights movement and anti-war movement, he experienced change in the Church and also experienced change in his life as a gay man.
I think it is living and experiencing this immense change that gives his writing an edge, passion and a kind of rawness. He writes about life and love in all its fullness, both ups and downs. He captures the human need for intimacy and the complex nature of desire.
Simple writing but powerful and also challenging.
But if it wasn't it wouldn't be Malcolm Boyd.
He was fearless or at least he found a way to deal with his fears, because coming out when in the priesthood was not easy especially in the seventies.
Revd Boyd was also a prolific writer and poet.
This book contains a series of reflections about Malcom's past loves. I suppose he wrote these as a way of expressing what it means to love as a gay man. His reflections are short and illustrate his passion, his loneliness and frustration but also his joy and immense capacity to love and be loved.
In an indirect way we get to see how Malcolm also touched the lives of men who met him, some of whom were clergy or involved in the church, many of whom were deeply closeted and sometimes married to women. His writing shows the complexity of being gay at a time when it was unaccepted in society, and the challenge of sustaining stable and loving relationships when society condemned such relationships.
As I read this I could feel the shame and fear of those men and also the joy, courage and strength of Malcolm Boyd and his willingness and struggle to be both honest and open. He seemed to have had so many relationships and encounters and I did wonder why, but I suppose for such a prominent and gifted person making these connections was very much a part of who he was because of the very nature of his work and ministry, and because of his charisma.
Revd Malcolm Boyd passed away earlier this year at the age of 91 but he lived a very full life and his life has spanned the era of change. He saw change through his activity in the Civil Rights movement and anti-war movement, he experienced change in the Church and also experienced change in his life as a gay man.
I think it is living and experiencing this immense change that gives his writing an edge, passion and a kind of rawness. He writes about life and love in all its fullness, both ups and downs. He captures the human need for intimacy and the complex nature of desire.
Simple writing but powerful and also challenging.
But if it wasn't it wouldn't be Malcolm Boyd.
Displaying 1 of 1 review