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Dark Testament: and Other Poems
There has been explosive interest in the life of Pauli Murray, as reflected in a recent profile in The New Yorker, the publication of a definitive biography, and a new Yale University college in her name. Murray has been suddenly cited by leading historians as a woman who contributed far more to the civil rights movement than anyone knew, being arrested in 1940—fifteen years before Rosa Parks—for refusing to give up her seat on a Virginia bus. Celebrated by twenty-first-century readers as a civil rights activist on the level of King, Parks, and John Lewis, she is also being rediscovered as a gifted writer of memoir, sermons, and poems. Originally published in 1970 and long unavailable, Dark Testament and Other Poems attests to her fierce lyrical powers. At turns song, prayer, and lamentation, Murray’s poems speak to the brutal history of slavery and Jim Crow and the dream of racial justice and equality.
107 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 4, 2018
38 people are currently reading
407 people want to read
About the author
Pauli Murray
18 books115 followersThe Reverend Dr. Anna Pauline "Pauli" Murray (November 20, 1910 – July 1, 1985) was an American civil rights activist, women's rights activist, lawyer, and author. She was also the first black woman ordained an Episcopal priest.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Murray was raised mostly by her maternal grandparents. At the age of sixteen, she moved to New York to attend Hunter College, graduating with a B.A. in English in 1933. In 1940, Murray was arrested with a friend for violating Virginia segregation laws after they sat in the whites-only section of a bus. This incident, and her subsequent involvement with the socialist Workers' Defense League, inspired her to become a civil rights lawyer, and she enrolled at Howard University. During her years at Howard, she became increasingly aware of sexism, which she called "Jane Crow", the sister of the Jim Crow racial segregation laws. Murray graduated first in her class, but was denied the chance to do further work at Harvard University because of her gender. In 1965 she became the first African American to receive a J.S.D. from Yale Law School.
As a lawyer, Murray argued for civil rights and women's rights. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall called Murray's 1950 book States' Laws on Race and Color the "bible" of the civil rights movement. Murray served on the 1961 Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and in 1966 was a co-founder of the National Organization for Women. Ruth Bader Ginsburg later named Murray a coauthor on a brief for Reed v. Reed in recognition of her pioneering work on gender discrimination. Murray held faculty or administrative positions at the Ghana School of Law, Benedict College, and Brandeis University.
In 1973, Murray left academia for the Episcopal Church, becoming a priest, and was named an Episcopal saint in 2012. Murray struggled with issues related to her sexual and gender identity, describing herself as having an "inverted sex instinct"; she had a brief, annulled marriage to a man and several relationships with women, and in her younger years, occasionally passed as a teenage boy. In addition to her legal and advocacy work, Murray published two well-reviewed autobiographies and a volume of poetry.
(from Wikipedia)
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Murray was raised mostly by her maternal grandparents. At the age of sixteen, she moved to New York to attend Hunter College, graduating with a B.A. in English in 1933. In 1940, Murray was arrested with a friend for violating Virginia segregation laws after they sat in the whites-only section of a bus. This incident, and her subsequent involvement with the socialist Workers' Defense League, inspired her to become a civil rights lawyer, and she enrolled at Howard University. During her years at Howard, she became increasingly aware of sexism, which she called "Jane Crow", the sister of the Jim Crow racial segregation laws. Murray graduated first in her class, but was denied the chance to do further work at Harvard University because of her gender. In 1965 she became the first African American to receive a J.S.D. from Yale Law School.
As a lawyer, Murray argued for civil rights and women's rights. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall called Murray's 1950 book States' Laws on Race and Color the "bible" of the civil rights movement. Murray served on the 1961 Presidential Commission on the Status of Women and in 1966 was a co-founder of the National Organization for Women. Ruth Bader Ginsburg later named Murray a coauthor on a brief for Reed v. Reed in recognition of her pioneering work on gender discrimination. Murray held faculty or administrative positions at the Ghana School of Law, Benedict College, and Brandeis University.
In 1973, Murray left academia for the Episcopal Church, becoming a priest, and was named an Episcopal saint in 2012. Murray struggled with issues related to her sexual and gender identity, describing herself as having an "inverted sex instinct"; she had a brief, annulled marriage to a man and several relationships with women, and in her younger years, occasionally passed as a teenage boy. In addition to her legal and advocacy work, Murray published two well-reviewed autobiographies and a volume of poetry.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
April 19, 2024
Second review (2024)
I have read many more poetry books since I first read Dark Testament in 2018 and because of that, I have a newfound appreciation for this collection. I enjoyed it more now than I did the first time. The language in Pauli's poems is powerful and visceral, some lines use powerful imagery to get their point across. Pauli's poems cover America's history, its dark past, and what Pauli hopes is its brighter future. There are also nature poems, love poems, and some Biblically-inspired ones.
My list of favorite poems from this collection has expanded, I have added 8 more poems, and the list now includes the following: "Dark Testament", "To The Oppressors", "Mulatto's Dilemna", "Mr. Roosevelt Regrets, "The Passing of FDR", "Ruth", "The Newer Cry", "Hate", "The Song of the Highway", "Prophecy", "Tears", "Dinner for Three", and "The Wanderer".
--
First review (2018)
"Hope is a song in a weary throat." -Pauli Murray
I first became aware of Pauli Murray last year after I read her biography Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray by Rosalind Rosenberg. "Dark Testament" was mentioned in the book. I put off reading this collection of poems because I'm not big into poetry unless its Shel Silverstein. I changed my mind when I read an excerpt of one of her poems "Mr. Roosevelt Regrets" in Jill Lepore's book These Truths: A History of the United States.
Dark Testament is really good, it's full of socially conscious poems. My favorite poems from the collection are "Dark Testament", "The Passing of F.D.R.", "The Newer Cry", "Prophecy", and "Dinner for Three".
I have read many more poetry books since I first read Dark Testament in 2018 and because of that, I have a newfound appreciation for this collection. I enjoyed it more now than I did the first time. The language in Pauli's poems is powerful and visceral, some lines use powerful imagery to get their point across. Pauli's poems cover America's history, its dark past, and what Pauli hopes is its brighter future. There are also nature poems, love poems, and some Biblically-inspired ones.
My list of favorite poems from this collection has expanded, I have added 8 more poems, and the list now includes the following: "Dark Testament", "To The Oppressors", "Mulatto's Dilemna", "Mr. Roosevelt Regrets, "The Passing of FDR", "Ruth", "The Newer Cry", "Hate", "The Song of the Highway", "Prophecy", "Tears", "Dinner for Three", and "The Wanderer".
--
First review (2018)
"Hope is a song in a weary throat." -Pauli Murray
I first became aware of Pauli Murray last year after I read her biography Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray by Rosalind Rosenberg. "Dark Testament" was mentioned in the book. I put off reading this collection of poems because I'm not big into poetry unless its Shel Silverstein. I changed my mind when I read an excerpt of one of her poems "Mr. Roosevelt Regrets" in Jill Lepore's book These Truths: A History of the United States.
Dark Testament is really good, it's full of socially conscious poems. My favorite poems from the collection are "Dark Testament", "The Passing of F.D.R.", "The Newer Cry", "Prophecy", and "Dinner for Three".
February 24, 2025
Meet Pauli Murray
Pauli Murray (1910 -- 1985) lived a life of extraordinary achievement in many areas combined with a great deal of inner turmoil, changes of direction, and restlessness. She overcame many hardships to have not one career but many and did them all well. In the 1940s she pioneered the sit-in movement in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Murray graduated from Howard Law School and did important legal work in support of "Brown" and other desegregation decisions. Moving from Jim Crow to what she called "Jane Crow", Murray became instrumental in the feminist movement. She was a co-founder of NOW and worked with Ruth Bader Ginsburg on a ground-breaking Supreme Court case on women's rights. She later taught in Ghana and became a Professor of American Studies at Brandeis University. In the last years of her life Murray went to divinity school where she became the first African-American woman admitted to the Episcopalian priesthood. Murray was of divided sexuality and often felt that she had the sexual make-up of a man in a woman's body. I learned about Murray from reading a recent essay by Drew Gilpin Faust in the New York Review which argued that she deserved to be much better known. Then, I learned still more from Gary Dorrien's book, "Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Black Social Gospel" (2018) which places Murray in a series of figures including King, Howard Thurman, and others that Dorrien characterizes as the Black Social Gospel movement.
With her accomplishments as an African American and women's rights activist, lawyer, professor, priest, and author, Pauli Murray was also a poet. Her short book of poetry "Dark Testament and other Poems" was published in 1970 but received little attention. The book was reissued in 2018 with an introduction by Elizabeth Alexander who teaches at Yale and is herself a renowned poet. With the publication of these rare poems, Alexander notes, "we have the complete Pauli Murray". The collection is not large, but it shows many sides of a complex, difficult woman.
Murray's poems are generally short and immediate. They are in a variety of forms and express many of her passions in life. The title section of the book, "Dark Testament" consists of twelve sections which trace the search for human freedom from primordial times through Africa, the slave trade, and the American experience. The poem looks toward the day when "No heart be quieted, no tongue be stilled/Until the final man may stand in any place/And thrust his shoulders to the sky,/Friend and brother to every other man."
Many of the poems in the following two sections of the books have political themes, including opposition to WW II, and riots in the 1940s in Harlem and Detroit. The poem"For Mack C. Parker" is about an African American individual accused of rape and kidnapped from a Mississippi prison and brutally lynched in 1959. Many of the poems in these sections of the book have expansive themes such as the eternal conflict between youth of age and the spirit of rebellion in the young of all times.
As the book proceeds, the book becomes more intimate in tone with many poems of love and loneliness. Many poems appear to talk about love relationships which go awry and seem to have their origin in Murray's private life with her own tormented sexuality. These poems give a fuller, more private look at Murray than is possible in her more celebrated writings. Many of the poems also have religious themes, as befitting her eventual commitment as an Episcopal priest, and themes of the seasons, the beauty of nature, and the individual search for meaning.
Here is a poem called "Ruth" which captures something of both the public and private Pauli Murray.
"Brown girl chanting Te Deums on Sunday
Rust-colored peasant with strength of granite,
Bronze girl welding ship hulls on Monday,
Let nothing smirch you, let no one crush you.
Queen of ghetto, sturdy hill climber,
Walk with the lilt of ballet dancer,Walk like a strong down-East wind blowing,
Walk with the majesty of the First Woman.
Gallant challenger, millioned-hope bearer,
The stars are your beacons, earth your inheritance,
Meet blaze and cannon with your own heart's passion,
Surrender to none the fire of your soul."
Together with her more public achievements, Murray had a poetic emotional gift that it is valuable to have preserved in this book. I was glad to read her poetry for itself and to learn more about Pauli Murray.
Robin Friedman
Pauli Murray (1910 -- 1985) lived a life of extraordinary achievement in many areas combined with a great deal of inner turmoil, changes of direction, and restlessness. She overcame many hardships to have not one career but many and did them all well. In the 1940s she pioneered the sit-in movement in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Murray graduated from Howard Law School and did important legal work in support of "Brown" and other desegregation decisions. Moving from Jim Crow to what she called "Jane Crow", Murray became instrumental in the feminist movement. She was a co-founder of NOW and worked with Ruth Bader Ginsburg on a ground-breaking Supreme Court case on women's rights. She later taught in Ghana and became a Professor of American Studies at Brandeis University. In the last years of her life Murray went to divinity school where she became the first African-American woman admitted to the Episcopalian priesthood. Murray was of divided sexuality and often felt that she had the sexual make-up of a man in a woman's body. I learned about Murray from reading a recent essay by Drew Gilpin Faust in the New York Review which argued that she deserved to be much better known. Then, I learned still more from Gary Dorrien's book, "Breaking White Supremacy: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Black Social Gospel" (2018) which places Murray in a series of figures including King, Howard Thurman, and others that Dorrien characterizes as the Black Social Gospel movement.
With her accomplishments as an African American and women's rights activist, lawyer, professor, priest, and author, Pauli Murray was also a poet. Her short book of poetry "Dark Testament and other Poems" was published in 1970 but received little attention. The book was reissued in 2018 with an introduction by Elizabeth Alexander who teaches at Yale and is herself a renowned poet. With the publication of these rare poems, Alexander notes, "we have the complete Pauli Murray". The collection is not large, but it shows many sides of a complex, difficult woman.
Murray's poems are generally short and immediate. They are in a variety of forms and express many of her passions in life. The title section of the book, "Dark Testament" consists of twelve sections which trace the search for human freedom from primordial times through Africa, the slave trade, and the American experience. The poem looks toward the day when "No heart be quieted, no tongue be stilled/Until the final man may stand in any place/And thrust his shoulders to the sky,/Friend and brother to every other man."
Many of the poems in the following two sections of the books have political themes, including opposition to WW II, and riots in the 1940s in Harlem and Detroit. The poem"For Mack C. Parker" is about an African American individual accused of rape and kidnapped from a Mississippi prison and brutally lynched in 1959. Many of the poems in these sections of the book have expansive themes such as the eternal conflict between youth of age and the spirit of rebellion in the young of all times.
As the book proceeds, the book becomes more intimate in tone with many poems of love and loneliness. Many poems appear to talk about love relationships which go awry and seem to have their origin in Murray's private life with her own tormented sexuality. These poems give a fuller, more private look at Murray than is possible in her more celebrated writings. Many of the poems also have religious themes, as befitting her eventual commitment as an Episcopal priest, and themes of the seasons, the beauty of nature, and the individual search for meaning.
Here is a poem called "Ruth" which captures something of both the public and private Pauli Murray.
"Brown girl chanting Te Deums on Sunday
Rust-colored peasant with strength of granite,
Bronze girl welding ship hulls on Monday,
Let nothing smirch you, let no one crush you.
Queen of ghetto, sturdy hill climber,
Walk with the lilt of ballet dancer,Walk like a strong down-East wind blowing,
Walk with the majesty of the First Woman.
Gallant challenger, millioned-hope bearer,
The stars are your beacons, earth your inheritance,
Meet blaze and cannon with your own heart's passion,
Surrender to none the fire of your soul."
Together with her more public achievements, Murray had a poetic emotional gift that it is valuable to have preserved in this book. I was glad to read her poetry for itself and to learn more about Pauli Murray.
Robin Friedman
March 25, 2023
I picked up this book in the American Writers Museum in Chicago. I’d recently learned about the amazing life of Pauli Murray- civil rights activist and lawyer who helped Thurgood Marshall form the arguments for Brown and worked with RBG on making gender a 14th amendment equal protection argument. I learned about her in the context of the renaming of Calhoun College at Yale to Pauli Murray College. The Writer’s Museum had an exhibit on Murray- writer, poet, and the first black female Episcopal priest. This book will knock your socks off. The first poem - Dark Testament- is a searing and unforgettable depiction of slavery. My favorites were Song of the Highway, the Passing of FDR and the ones that interweave passages from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer with images of bondage, slavery, and lynching (collect for Poplarville and For Mack C. Parker.
September 25, 2020
Hope is a crushed stalk
Between clenched fingers
Hope is a bird’s wing
Broken by a stone.
Hope is a word in a tuneless ditty —
A word whispered with the wind,
A dream of forty acres and a mule,
A cabin of one’s own and a moment to rest,
A name and place for one’s children
And children’s children at last...
Hope is a song in a weary throat.
Give me a song of hope
And a world where I can sing it.
Give me a song of faith
And a people to believe in it.
Give me a song of kindliness
And a country where I can live it.
Give me a song of hope and love
And a brown girl’s heart to hear it.
-Pauli Murray, Dark Testament and other poems
Between clenched fingers
Hope is a bird’s wing
Broken by a stone.
Hope is a word in a tuneless ditty —
A word whispered with the wind,
A dream of forty acres and a mule,
A cabin of one’s own and a moment to rest,
A name and place for one’s children
And children’s children at last...
Hope is a song in a weary throat.
Give me a song of hope
And a world where I can sing it.
Give me a song of faith
And a people to believe in it.
Give me a song of kindliness
And a country where I can live it.
Give me a song of hope and love
And a brown girl’s heart to hear it.
-Pauli Murray, Dark Testament and other poems
September 25, 2020
I need to sit with these poems some more. I do feel like I rushed through it. Inspired for further study.
March 14, 2024
Incredible
April 14, 2024
Great collection of poems. Dark testament stood out as my favorite poem, much of it still relevant today. This was my first introduction to Pauli Murray and I’m happy with how this book was put together.
April 14, 2024
This book - along with the Underwood typewriter and word waterfall - was one of the biggest highlights of my trip to Chicago. I loved some of her poems; it was refreshingly original, raw, and vivid. I can't think of other words to describe it. Some of them have very masculine energy so I wasn't surprised when apparently historians aren't sure of Murray's gender pronouns today.
April 14, 2024
Today I learned about Ellen Garrison, who is "Concord's Rosa Parks". It gives me chills to realize that in two days, I have encountered two women who have both been referred to as Rosa Parks of their time. My life is full of strange coincidences and this was no exception. It's Ellen Garrison's birthday today too (is it really a coincidence at this level?). God's plan, I swear. Goodreads doesn't have the book written by Myra Faye Turner so I'm leaving my thoughts here sitting at the Transcendalist Alcove at Concord Free Library. Such a perfect place to ponder about these discoveries of mine, surrounded by walls of beautiful wooden bookshelves with Emerson and Thoreau books.
April 14, 2024
Today I learned about Ellen Garrison, who is "Concord's Rosa Parks". It gives me chills to realize that in two days, I have encountered two women who have both been referred to as Rosa Parks of their time. My life is full of strange coincidences and this was no exception. It's Ellen Garrison's birthday today too (is it really a coincidence at this level?). God's plan, I swear. Goodreads doesn't have the book written by Myra Faye Turner so I'm leaving my thoughts here sitting at the Transcendalist Alcove at Concord Free Library. Such a perfect place to ponder about these discoveries of mine, surrounded by walls of beautiful wooden bookshelves with Emerson and Thoreau books.
September 13, 2021
It’s a shame I never heard of this brilliant woman before. A civil rights activist and an inspiring historical figure. I adored her writing style as a poet, and was moved by her wit and emotional depth. Her nods to nature and interweaving of the daily mundane with poems in the second half aligned with some of my own poetic daydreams of the world.
An intellect caught between the harshness of the world and the love of a poet, Murray was a woman after my heart. I can’t wait to read more regarding her life. And I’m flabbergasted she isn’t taught and talked about more openly in American history courses. When people discuss “white washed history” it’s because of women like this being erased from curriculums. An awful shame.
An intellect caught between the harshness of the world and the love of a poet, Murray was a woman after my heart. I can’t wait to read more regarding her life. And I’m flabbergasted she isn’t taught and talked about more openly in American history courses. When people discuss “white washed history” it’s because of women like this being erased from curriculums. An awful shame.
October 7, 2020
This is an incredible work of poetry. Pauli Murray stands with both sympathetic feet grounded in the mires of the world, and a mind and words which stretch up to heaven. Combining prophetic visions of a world reborn, and withering condemnation of the tyrannies and oppressions of the world as it stands now; tender, personal reflections and soft wishes meet grand sweeping visions of history and the self. This is a masterwork of contradiction, of beautiful symmetry, and of a kind, reflective mood- alongside clarion calls to realise the dignity of all. This is a treasure, one I will definitely read again.
September 7, 2024
The poem “Dark Testament” is a twelve part poem of the American dream of freedom and liberty betrayed by the anguish if the enslaved Africans. Interestingly, much like Robert Burns “For a’ that & a’ that” the poem ends on a hope that eventually every human will treat all other humans as worthy of equal dignity.
Many of the other poems speak to the yearning for love and justice and serenity resulting from the defeat of hate, injustice and oppression, and the emotions engendered by war, struggle, and God. They are the poems of a person who lived the life of an activist, lawyer, and priest.
Many of the other poems speak to the yearning for love and justice and serenity resulting from the defeat of hate, injustice and oppression, and the emotions engendered by war, struggle, and God. They are the poems of a person who lived the life of an activist, lawyer, and priest.
Read
February 17, 2025I am very glad I read this collection of poems. I must admit, I knew the author from her other works and thought, “oh this might not be as powerful.” It is different than her other work, but equally powerful in its own way. It is brilliant and thoughtful and paints a picture of the world she grew up in and around. I am very glad I read this. I bought it new from Amazon in 2024.
July 17, 2020
3.5/5
"Friends and countrymen! I speak for my race and my people— The human race and just people."
Pauli Murray is fascinating. My favorite poems were Harlem Riot, 1943, Youth, 1933, Tongues, and Prophecy
"Friends and countrymen! I speak for my race and my people— The human race and just people."
Pauli Murray is fascinating. My favorite poems were Harlem Riot, 1943, Youth, 1933, Tongues, and Prophecy
October 7, 2021
The words on the pages were so real like I felt some of her emotions in this collection she was so gifted in her poetry. She is my new Shero I will be reading her autobiography next want to learn more about her accomplishments as an woman during that era.
January 19, 2022
I didn't sit with these poems on this read for super long (some of them I did), but for someone who was not predominantly an author, they're very good. Planning on returning to a few of them at a later date.
March 30, 2024
Amazing Woman!
Pauli Murray’s life is well worth knowing and studying. She was brilliant in so many ways. This book of her poetry reflects her brilliance, bravery, and love of life even as it reveals the darkness of the world to which she so beautifully testifies.
Pauli Murray’s life is well worth knowing and studying. She was brilliant in so many ways. This book of her poetry reflects her brilliance, bravery, and love of life even as it reveals the darkness of the world to which she so beautifully testifies.
October 31, 2018
**OBTAINED: FREE from Liveright Books**
Dark Testament was really a powerful and brilliant collection of poetry by Pauli Murray, an early civil rights activist and champion. From the first page I was captivated and to the last, enthralled. This was some of the most amazing, moving and inspiring poetry that I have had the opportunity to read in a long while. I am so glad to have received this book.
"With the cadences of Martin Luther King Jr. and the lyricism of Langston Hughes, the great civil rights activist Pauli Murray’s sole book of poems finally returns to print.
There has been explosive interest in the life of Pauli Murray, as reflected in a recent profile in The New Yorker, the publication of a definitive biography, and a new Yale University college in her name. Murray has been suddenly cited by leading historians as a woman who contributed far more to the civil rights movement than anyone knew, being arrested in 1940—fifteen years before Rosa Parks—for refusing to give up her seat on a Virginia bus. Celebrated by twenty-first-century readers as a civil rights activist on the level of King, Parks, and John Lewis, she is also being rediscovered as a gifted writer of memoir, sermons, and poems. Originally published in 1970 and long unavailable, Dark Testament and Other Poems attests to her fierce lyrical powers. At turns song, prayer, and lamentation, Murray’s poems speak to the brutal history of slavery and Jim Crow and the dream of racial justice and equality." -Book Blurb
The life of Pauli Murray is greatly worth mentioning. She was a woman of strength and character, of passion and faith. She passionately railed against inequality, including racism and sexism. She wrote about human rights and was even imprisoned, long before Rosa Parks, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus. The book blurb describes her imprisonment as having happened a good fifteen years before Rosa Parks’, not that that lessens Parks’ cause but it certainly is worthy of being mentioned and honored. Along with being a highly educated activist, she was a lawyer, an Episcopalian priest, as well as a gifted author and poet. It seems her life and efforts have not been truly appreciated.
As for Dark Testament, I can’t even begin to imagine why this book fell out of print. It is an amazing work, filled with deep, heart-wrenching, breath-taking and thought-provoking poetry. The way Pauli Murray uses her words and her beautifully unique voice to create her poetry and verse is truly inspiring. As a fan of poetry, this work spoke to me, but I believe it has the ability to speak to those far less interested in poetry as well. I would recommend this book to those interested in civil rights, early civil rights movements and influential poetry. Pauli Murray’s work is outstanding and she was a brilliant and intelligent woman whose powerful voice deserves to be heard.
Many thanks to Liveright Books for the chance to read, rate and honestly review this one!
[CONTENT & TRIGGER WARNING BELOW...]
[OFFICIAL RATING: 5 STARS]
[CONTENT NOTE: Language. (There are some usages of the N word, though not used lightly and certainly not without purpose or intention.) There are some dark imagery and themes, such a violence, slavery, poverty, childbirth, war etc. that can be very emotional to read but Murray does so very tenderly and honestly. I would not recommend this to young readers, however.]
Dark Testament was really a powerful and brilliant collection of poetry by Pauli Murray, an early civil rights activist and champion. From the first page I was captivated and to the last, enthralled. This was some of the most amazing, moving and inspiring poetry that I have had the opportunity to read in a long while. I am so glad to have received this book.
"With the cadences of Martin Luther King Jr. and the lyricism of Langston Hughes, the great civil rights activist Pauli Murray’s sole book of poems finally returns to print.
There has been explosive interest in the life of Pauli Murray, as reflected in a recent profile in The New Yorker, the publication of a definitive biography, and a new Yale University college in her name. Murray has been suddenly cited by leading historians as a woman who contributed far more to the civil rights movement than anyone knew, being arrested in 1940—fifteen years before Rosa Parks—for refusing to give up her seat on a Virginia bus. Celebrated by twenty-first-century readers as a civil rights activist on the level of King, Parks, and John Lewis, she is also being rediscovered as a gifted writer of memoir, sermons, and poems. Originally published in 1970 and long unavailable, Dark Testament and Other Poems attests to her fierce lyrical powers. At turns song, prayer, and lamentation, Murray’s poems speak to the brutal history of slavery and Jim Crow and the dream of racial justice and equality." -Book Blurb
The life of Pauli Murray is greatly worth mentioning. She was a woman of strength and character, of passion and faith. She passionately railed against inequality, including racism and sexism. She wrote about human rights and was even imprisoned, long before Rosa Parks, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus. The book blurb describes her imprisonment as having happened a good fifteen years before Rosa Parks’, not that that lessens Parks’ cause but it certainly is worthy of being mentioned and honored. Along with being a highly educated activist, she was a lawyer, an Episcopalian priest, as well as a gifted author and poet. It seems her life and efforts have not been truly appreciated.
As for Dark Testament, I can’t even begin to imagine why this book fell out of print. It is an amazing work, filled with deep, heart-wrenching, breath-taking and thought-provoking poetry. The way Pauli Murray uses her words and her beautifully unique voice to create her poetry and verse is truly inspiring. As a fan of poetry, this work spoke to me, but I believe it has the ability to speak to those far less interested in poetry as well. I would recommend this book to those interested in civil rights, early civil rights movements and influential poetry. Pauli Murray’s work is outstanding and she was a brilliant and intelligent woman whose powerful voice deserves to be heard.
Many thanks to Liveright Books for the chance to read, rate and honestly review this one!
[CONTENT & TRIGGER WARNING BELOW...]
[OFFICIAL RATING: 5 STARS]
[CONTENT NOTE: Language. (There are some usages of the N word, though not used lightly and certainly not without purpose or intention.) There are some dark imagery and themes, such a violence, slavery, poverty, childbirth, war etc. that can be very emotional to read but Murray does so very tenderly and honestly. I would not recommend this to young readers, however.]
December 23, 2019
perfection
March 9, 2020
I don't read much poetry, but I liked this.
April 23, 2020
Astounding
December 17, 2020
A strong and courageous woman. An overlooked writer. I felt deeply moved by her story and her poems. Honest and authentic.
July 11, 2021
I can't believe it took me this long to discover Murray. This collection was heartbreaking and sublime.
May 6, 2022
The title poem is especially impactful.
July 9, 2023
On first read, I understood these poems and see their significance. I hope to get another read in soon.
July 3, 2024
Dark visceral history and encouraging strength through a long view of civil rights. A good collection of responses and reflections.
October 26, 2024
“There on the furthest rim of earth, we stood, my hand in yours, your breath upon my cheek, our wild impatient dreams thundering echoes of the flood”
November 27, 2024
Profound poetic insights from a brilliant feminist, racial equality advocate, and queer voice who was decades ahead of their time.
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July 21, 2025This title is available on the Libby app. Search by title or access it directly here: https://share.libbyapp.com/title/3911530
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Agnes Scott students can sign in with their library credentials.
October 3, 2025
Pauli Murray is a genius
October 31, 2018
**OBTAINED: FREE from Liveright Books**
Dark Testament was really a powerful and brilliant collection of poetry by Pauli Murray, an early civil rights activist and champion. From the first page I was captivated and to the last, enthralled. This was some of the most amazing, moving and inspiring poetry that I have had the opportunity to read in a long while. I am so glad to have received this book.
"With the cadences of Martin Luther King Jr. and the lyricism of Langston Hughes, the great civil rights activist Pauli Murray’s sole book of poems finally returns to print.
There has been explosive interest in the life of Pauli Murray, as reflected in a recent profile in The New Yorker, the publication of a definitive biography, and a new Yale University college in her name. Murray has been suddenly cited by leading historians as a woman who contributed far more to the civil rights movement than anyone knew, being arrested in 1940—fifteen years before Rosa Parks—for refusing to give up her seat on a Virginia bus. Celebrated by twenty-first-century readers as a civil rights activist on the level of King, Parks, and John Lewis, she is also being rediscovered as a gifted writer of memoir, sermons, and poems. Originally published in 1970 and long unavailable, Dark Testament and Other Poems attests to her fierce lyrical powers. At turns song, prayer, and lamentation, Murray’s poems speak to the brutal history of slavery and Jim Crow and the dream of racial justice and equality." -Book Blurb
The life of Pauli Murray is greatly worth mentioning. She was a woman of strength and character, of passion and faith. She passionately railed against inequality, including racism and sexism. She wrote about human rights and was even imprisoned, long before Rosa Parks, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus. The book blurb describes her imprisonment as having happened a good fifteen years before Rosa Parks’, not that that lessens Parks’ cause but it certainly is worthy of being mentioned and honored. Along with being a highly educated activist, she was a lawyer, an Episcopalian priest, as well as a gifted author and poet. It seems her life and efforts have not been truly appreciated.
As for Dark Testament, I can’t even begin to imagine why this book fell out of print. It is an amazing work, filled with deep, heart-wrenching, breath-taking and thought-provoking poetry. The way Pauli Murray uses her words and her beautifully unique voice to create her poetry and verse is truly inspiring. As a fan of poetry, this work spoke to me, but I believe it has the ability to speak to those far less interested in poetry as well. I would recommend this book to those interested in civil rights, early civil rights movements and influential poetry. Pauli Murray’s work is outstanding and she was a brilliant and intelligent woman whose powerful voice deserves to be heard.
Many thanks to Liveright Books for the chance to read, rate and honestly review this one!
[CONTENT & TRIGGER WARNING BELOW...]
[OFFICIAL RATING: 5 STARS]
[CONTENT NOTE: Language. (There are some usages of the N word, though not used lightly and certainly not without purpose or intention.) There are some dark imagery and themes, such a violence, slavery, poverty, childbirth, war etc. that can be very emotional to read but Murray does so very tenderly and honestly. I would not recommend this to young readers, however.]
Dark Testament was really a powerful and brilliant collection of poetry by Pauli Murray, an early civil rights activist and champion. From the first page I was captivated and to the last, enthralled. This was some of the most amazing, moving and inspiring poetry that I have had the opportunity to read in a long while. I am so glad to have received this book.
"With the cadences of Martin Luther King Jr. and the lyricism of Langston Hughes, the great civil rights activist Pauli Murray’s sole book of poems finally returns to print.
There has been explosive interest in the life of Pauli Murray, as reflected in a recent profile in The New Yorker, the publication of a definitive biography, and a new Yale University college in her name. Murray has been suddenly cited by leading historians as a woman who contributed far more to the civil rights movement than anyone knew, being arrested in 1940—fifteen years before Rosa Parks—for refusing to give up her seat on a Virginia bus. Celebrated by twenty-first-century readers as a civil rights activist on the level of King, Parks, and John Lewis, she is also being rediscovered as a gifted writer of memoir, sermons, and poems. Originally published in 1970 and long unavailable, Dark Testament and Other Poems attests to her fierce lyrical powers. At turns song, prayer, and lamentation, Murray’s poems speak to the brutal history of slavery and Jim Crow and the dream of racial justice and equality." -Book Blurb
The life of Pauli Murray is greatly worth mentioning. She was a woman of strength and character, of passion and faith. She passionately railed against inequality, including racism and sexism. She wrote about human rights and was even imprisoned, long before Rosa Parks, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus. The book blurb describes her imprisonment as having happened a good fifteen years before Rosa Parks’, not that that lessens Parks’ cause but it certainly is worthy of being mentioned and honored. Along with being a highly educated activist, she was a lawyer, an Episcopalian priest, as well as a gifted author and poet. It seems her life and efforts have not been truly appreciated.
As for Dark Testament, I can’t even begin to imagine why this book fell out of print. It is an amazing work, filled with deep, heart-wrenching, breath-taking and thought-provoking poetry. The way Pauli Murray uses her words and her beautifully unique voice to create her poetry and verse is truly inspiring. As a fan of poetry, this work spoke to me, but I believe it has the ability to speak to those far less interested in poetry as well. I would recommend this book to those interested in civil rights, early civil rights movements and influential poetry. Pauli Murray’s work is outstanding and she was a brilliant and intelligent woman whose powerful voice deserves to be heard.
Many thanks to Liveright Books for the chance to read, rate and honestly review this one!
[CONTENT & TRIGGER WARNING BELOW...]
[OFFICIAL RATING: 5 STARS]
[CONTENT NOTE: Language. (There are some usages of the N word, though not used lightly and certainly not without purpose or intention.) There are some dark imagery and themes, such a violence, slavery, poverty, childbirth, war etc. that can be very emotional to read but Murray does so very tenderly and honestly. I would not recommend this to young readers, however.]
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