Poetry and the contemplative life commonweal magazine. Members of the thomas merton society of canada may borrow selections from our growing audio videotape library on a 2week loan basis, free of charge. Michael mort called it the seven mountains of thomas merton. Thomas merton was a trappist monk and author who was best known for his autobiography, the seven storey mountain, which was published in 1948. Apparently, he wondered why the gift of contemplation and mystical prayer was seen as something essentially strange, esoteric and reserved for a small class of unnatural beings, and prohibited to everyone else. Thomas merton ebooks epub and pdf downloads ebookmall. Welcome to the merton center digital collections page. Thomas merton books of bardstown, kentucky, sold books for itms 2015. The collected poems of thomas merton poetry by thomas merton in 1944, new directions brought out thomas merton s first book of verse. Literature, drama, poetry, make certain statements about human acts that can be made in no other way. In 1944, new directions brought out thomas mertons first book of verse.
If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them. Merton was a trappist, a member of a roman catholic brotherhood. In august 1915, the merton family left prades for the united states because of. Mertons autobiography the seven storey mountain was an instant bestseller and has sold over one million copies and been translated into fifteen languages. Thomas merton, the literary essays of thomas merton. Chuang tzu, who wrote in the fourth and third centuries. In the prayer of the heart we seek first of all the deepest ground of our identity in god. It can be considered from three points of view, as it were in three degrees. Thomas merton expressed this vision in his poetry, novels, essays, devotionals, and autobiographical writings. All of these poems have been assembled in a single, definitive volume first. He had closely studied the signed testament given by rudolf hoess at the nuremberg war crimes trials from which it is clear he drew much of the material presented in his chant to be used in.
It offers the essential writings of one of the greatest spiritual teachers of our time. And if i cannot eat my bread, my fasts shall live like willows where you died. In 1949, he was ordained to the priesthood and given the name. Thomas merton worked at the roman catholic center in harlem while attending and teaching at columbia university. Merton 19151968 was a member of the trappist monastery at the abbey of gethsemani near bardstown, kentucky. Thomas merton 19151968 was an angloamerican catholic writer and mystic. We do not reason about dogmas of faith, or the mysteries. Please request your selection by telephoning or emailing the tmsc. Information and translations of merton in the most comprehensive. Thomas merton 19151968 is a man who experienced life to its fullest in the world before entering a trappist monastery. A monk who lived in isolation for several years, and one of the most wellknown catholic writers of the twentieth century, thomas james merton was a prolific poet, religious writer, and essayist whose diversity of work has rendered a precise definition of his life and an estimation of the significance of his career difficult. From one of the 20th centurys bestloved christian writers comes this extraordinary spiritual testament. Phenomenal woman, still i rise, the road not taken, if you forget me, dreams. Go, roads, to the four quarters of our quiet distance, while you, full moon, wise queen, begin your evening journey to the hills of heaven, and travel no less stately in the summer sky than mary, going to the house of zachary.
A primary source is a work that is being studied, or that provides firsthand or direct evidence on a topic. Thomas merton studies center at bellarmine college in louisville, kentucky, contains over 10,000 items related to merton and some 3,000 of his manuscripts. Explore some of thomas merton best quotations and sayings on such as the beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. A trappist monk of the abbey of gethsemani, kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion. By thomas merton about this poet a monk who lived in isolation for several years, and one of the most wellknown catholic writers of the twentieth century, thomas james merton was a prolific poet, religious writer, and essayist whose diversity of work has rendered a precise definition of his life and. Thoughtful and eloquent, as timely or timeless now as when it was originally published in 1956, thoughts in solitude addresses the pleasure of a solitary li. Common types of primary sources include works of literature, historical documents, original philosophical writings, and religious texts.
The collected poems of thomas merton poetry by thomas merton in 1944, new directions brought out thomas mertons first book of verse. We can conclude from this evidence that the mid 1940s were the time span in which merton most felt moved to praise mary through the art form of poetry. Thomas merton was a hugely influential catholic monk and mystic of the 20th century who wrote with great insight and inspiration on the spiritual journey and the quest for meaning and inner silence within the modern world. Thomas merton, 191568, american religious writer and poet, b. In silence be still listen to the stones of the wall. A trappist monk of the abbey of our lady of gethsemani, in the american state of kentucky, merton was an acclaimed catholic spiritual writer, poet, author and social activist. His father, a new zealand painter, and mother, an american artist, moved the family to the united states later in the same year.
Thomas merton, perhaps better than anyone else in american popular culture, brought the notion of contemplative prayer into a somewhat widespread awareness and conversation. The woods are silent with the sleep of doves, the valleys with the sleep of streams, and all our barns are happy with peace of cattle gone. After looking at how long it is, the book has been sitting on my stairs, unread. So when i came across this young adult biography of merton by the author of the trial, which my daughter bekah loved, i decided this might be a quicker and easier way to become more acquainted with merton. Contemplative prayer by thomas merton bahai studies. The following lectures by such visitors are held in the archives of the thomas merton center but the intellectual property belongs to the speakers or their estates. Richard rohr on thomas merton video is sourced from the thomas merton youtube channel. Sacred silence book cover image by festival of faiths edited, cc by 2. All of life has become the topic for modern poetry and the poet for merton is the preserver of tradition while being the visionary of transformed life. Thomas merton was one of the most influential catholic authors of the 20th century. Thomas merton would frequently ask those coming to visit him at gethsemani to address his novices and these talks were also recorded.
He was a trappist monk, poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion. First, lets take a look at the distribution of merton s marian poems as they relate to the years of his life. The secular journal of thomas merton by merton, thomas, 19151968. Thoughts in solitude by thomas merton free book pdf. Behind the warped door that sticks, the wood thrush calls to the monks, pausing atop the stone crucifix, singing. Love for selected poems endures because its from his poems that merton incontestably emerges as a soul in the form of art. Against all expectation and in spite of the persistent efforts of the catholic church to silence him in the 60s, merton emerged as one of the most prominent and. Oct 17, 2015 poem hunter all poems of by thomas merton poems. If in the heat i find no water for my thirst, my thirst shall turn to springs for you, poor traveler. In new seeds of contemplation, merton uses the poetic metaphor of seeds to describe sources or touchstones of contemplation and of seeking gods will. He wrote more than seventy books, including his autobiography, the seven storey mountain. We can make some remarks about the distribution and frequency of merton s poems. Merton was at one time a trappist monk, a member of a roman catholic.
Converted to the roman catholic church during his college career, he. The long, long list of thomas merton titles on tables. This page is part of the thomas merton center at bellarmine university. His father, a new zealand painter, and mother, an american artist, moved the. Life after death experience nde with steve gardipee, vietnam war story one of the best ndes duration.
Thomas merton on poetry audiobook by thomas merton. By the time of his tragic, untimely death in 1968, father louis as he was known at the trappist monastery where he lived for twentyseven years had published upwards of fifty books and pamphlets, including several more collections of poetry. Contemplative prayer by thomas merton what is the purpose of meditation in the sense of the prayer of the heart. Publication date 1960 topics trappists publisher new york. Thomas mertons christmasthemed poem the flight into. He grew up in france, england, and the united states and studied at cambridge and at columbia b. Audio videotape library members of the thomas merton society of canada may borrow selections from our growing audio videotape library on a 2week loan basis, free of charge. Thomas merton take thomas merton as your personal poetry professor. There are days when i think about going to live with the monks. Reported missing in action, 1943 sweet brother, if i do not sleep my eyes are flowers for your tomb. With a substantial introduction thomas merton includes a broad range of merton s writings, including his letters, and highlights his threefold call.
Advice to a young prophet by thomas merton poetry foundation. Eliot in 1949 judged thomas mertons early poetry as hit or miss, intimating that the monk wrote too much and revised too little. The horizons flashing fastens tight, sealing the blue hills with vermillion. The thomas merton center is the official repository of mertons artistic estate, which includes over thirteen hundred photographs and nine hundred drawings in addition to his writing. You know thomas merton as one of the most beloved voices of the 20th century. Audiobook new seeds of contemplation by thomas merton. Apr 27, 2014 the contemplative life is a life entirely occupied with godwith love and knowledge of god.
Mertons prose had long been infused with a keen awareness of the existential crises mandated by the awareness of social inequities, but his poetry had till then seemed a safe a place for meditation and contemplation on a sphere elevated above the prosaic problems outside the monastery. Audio download from one of the 20th centurys bestloved christian writers comes this extraordinary spiritual testament. Thomas merton 19151968 a monk who lived in isolation for several years, and yet became one of the most wellknown catholic writers of the twentieth century, thomas merton was a prolific poet, religious writer, and essayist with an amazing diversity of published work. The international thomas merton society was founded in 1987 and reports a. Thomas merton was born in prades, france, to owen merton, a new zealand painter active in europe and the usa, and ruth jenkins, an american quaker and artist. Thomas merton 19151968 is a man who experienced life to its fullest in the world. I borrowed thomas mertons the seven storey mountain from a friend a few weeks ago. The collected poems of thomas merton by thomas merton. He was born in 1915 in the french village of prades. The collected poems of thomas merton thomas merton. In other words, these first two poems describe aspects of mertons. The merton legacy trust, devoted to gathering all future merton scholarship, is also located at bellarmine. The center archives more than fifty thousand mertonrelated materials.
Merton was deeply familiar with the activities as hitlers ss as a recent manifestation of the human capacity to objectify and dehumanise the other. The way of chuang tzu thomas merton working from existing translations, father merton has composed a series of personal versions from his favorites among the classic sayings of chuang tzu, the most spirit ual of the chinese philosophers. Merton came to embrace the profound relationship that developed between his vocation to the silence of his monastic life and its rich and sacralizing effects on his poetics. In 1949, he was ordained to the priesthood and given the name father louis. List of books and articles about thomas merton online. You may choose three audiotapes and one videotape, or six audiotapes at one time.
I borrowed thomas merton s the seven storey mountain from a friend a few weeks ago. Included is a devoted, even loving, appreciation of mertons poems by poet mark van doren i dont know if its found in the collected poems. These gifts, he felt, were godgiven, and it was incumbent. It was found on youtube on megansspark channel no information re its source or attribution is available.
The collected poems of thomas merton new directions. One of the poems in that collection is the flight into egypt, recalling the story from the gospel of matthew matthew 2. He called his own life story the seven storey mountain. Publication date 1953 topics merton, thomas, 19151968, trappists, trappistes, contemplation publisher new york, harcourt, brace. The collected poems of thomas merton 9780811206433 by thomas merton and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Jacket includes bibliographical references pages 78 1. The contemplative life is a life entirely occupied with godwith love and knowledge of god. Thomas mertons early life is well known from the seven storey mountain.
He was also a celebrated poet and lifelong lover of literature, and these lectures showcase his extraordinary insights into poetry. The secular journal of thomas merton internet archive. His father, owen merton, was a painter andwhen financial need demandeda parttime musician who had left his native new zealand seeking a wider world. There is first of all possible a kind of natural contemplation of godthat of the artist, the philosopher, and of the most advanced pagan religions. The two exceptions are the annunciation which merton wrote in 1957 and hagia sophia which merton wrote in 1963. Mertons contemplative poetry i turn now to some samples of mertons poetry that might facilitate contemplative understanding and experience.