2023 Competition Prompt
“Give me a song of hope and a world where I can sing it.” – Pauli Murray, Dark
Testament
Pauli Murray (1910-1985) was difficult to define. They were a poet, a lawyer, a priest, a
freight hopper, Eleanor Roosevelt’s friend, arrested for refusing to comply with bus
segregation laws, a closeted member of the LBGTQ+ community, a professor, and so
much more. Their work has influenced Supreme Court decisions, the Civil Rights
movement, and countless individual people.
This prompt is a quote from Murray’s collection of poems titled Dark Testament. It can
be used as a first line, a last line, a jumping-off point, an inspiration for your students’
work. They can use the entire quote or portions of it to write a fiction or nonfiction story,
poem, song, scene, short monologue or other form of writing. Submissions should be
1,000 words or less regardless of format.
Prizes for the John Estey Student Writing Competition are as follows:
● 3 Winners from the Elementary Grade category will receive $500 each
● 3 Winners from the Middle School Category will receive $1,000 each
● 3 Winners from the High School category will receive $2,000 each
Submissions are due to Ms. Confer by Friday, May 12.
Seniors who submit writing should share a post-graduation email address so they can be
contacted with contest information as the contest results won’t be available until September.
“Give me a song of hope and a world where I can sing it.” – Pauli Murray, Dark
Testament
Pauli Murray (1910-1985) was difficult to define. They were a poet, a lawyer, a priest, a
freight hopper, Eleanor Roosevelt’s friend, arrested for refusing to comply with bus
segregation laws, a closeted member of the LBGTQ+ community, a professor, and so
much more. Their work has influenced Supreme Court decisions, the Civil Rights
movement, and countless individual people.
This prompt is a quote from Murray’s collection of poems titled Dark Testament. It can
be used as a first line, a last line, a jumping-off point, an inspiration for your students’
work. They can use the entire quote or portions of it to write a fiction or nonfiction story,
poem, song, scene, short monologue or other form of writing. Submissions should be
1,000 words or less regardless of format.
Prizes for the John Estey Student Writing Competition are as follows:
● 3 Winners from the Elementary Grade category will receive $500 each
● 3 Winners from the Middle School Category will receive $1,000 each
● 3 Winners from the High School category will receive $2,000 each
Submissions are due to Ms. Confer by Friday, May 12.
Seniors who submit writing should share a post-graduation email address so they can be
contacted with contest information as the contest results won’t be available until September.
Public library partnership
Member’s of Mr. Brannigan’s book club and the library advisory
committee will be visiting the West Englewood Library on
Wednesday, May 17 to help plan the teen space there. If you are
interested in participating in the West Englewood Teen Advisor
program, please reach out to me, [email protected], or to
branch manager Kristin LoDolce, [email protected] for more
information.
Member’s of Mr. Brannigan’s book club and the library advisory
committee will be visiting the West Englewood Library on
Wednesday, May 17 to help plan the teen space there. If you are
interested in participating in the West Englewood Teen Advisor
program, please reach out to me, [email protected], or to
branch manager Kristin LoDolce, [email protected] for more
information.