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Overview
In this fourth volume of correspondence, readers discover "the literary Merton," who had a passion for writing, as well as "the whole Merton"-monk, social critic, friend. Selected, edited, and with an Introduction by Christine M. Bochen; Preface by William H. Shannon; Index.
From 1948, when he wrote his first letters to Evelyn Waugh, who was editing The Seven Storey Mountain, until his death in 1968, Merton corresponded with writers around the world, developing an ever-widening circle of friends. Here collected in the fourth volume of Merton's correspondence are his letters to Czeslaw Milosz, Henry Miller, Walker Percy, Boris Pasternak, and others.
Editorials
Katie Haegele
...as with all his writing, [it] is conversational yet wise, completely readable yet dense with meaning.—Philadelphia Weekly
Publishers Weekly -
Famed Trappist monk Thomas Merton corresponded with an extraordinary range of writers, among them Evelyn Waugh, Henry Miller, Jacques Maritain, Walker Percy and William Carlos Williams. He spoke out boldly against political oppression, social injustice, racism and nuclear weapons, and expressed solidarity with Boris Pasternak, Czeslaw Milosz and James Baldwin. His letters to Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal and to Argentine feminist Victoria Ocampo reflect his deep love of Latin American culture. Spanning the years from 1948 to Merton's death in 1968, this fourth volume of his correspondence shows the crystallization of his belief that speaking the truth is an obligation which ultimately brings persons of integrity into confrontation with power structures and vested interests. Highly articulate and quietly inspirational, these letters also testify to Merton's conviction that contemplation is the source from which all action should flow. Bochen is secretary of the International Thomas Merton Society. (Aug.)Gary Young
This is new Merton material! For the latest (fourth) collection of Merton letters, Bochen has selected excellent representatives of Merton's correspondence with writers. This volume is a necessary addition to the library of Merton scholars and students because it reveals aspects of the monk that are seldom seen in literature apart from his letters. For 25 years since the untimely death of Thomas Merton, a constant stream of literature has emanated from his dedicated readers, whose lives are conditioned by his teaching and his rapport. In this volume, Merton's correspondence is revealed as he interacts with major and minor literary contemporaries. Evelyn Waugh, Jacques Maritain, Boris Pasternak, Czeslaw Milosz, Ernesto Cardenal, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Walker Percy, and William Carlos Williams are some of the luminaries who fed and were fed by the paradoxical monk. Bochen has described the relationships with interspersed information and commentary, which reflect the quality of her scholarship. For novice writers, this could be the kind of vade mecum that would inspire and improve the style and content of their interaction with readers. Highly recommended.Book Details
Published
August 1, 1994
Publisher
San Diego : Harcourt Brace, 1994.
Pages
336
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780156000048