Thomas Merton: Selected Essays

Synopsis

Thomas Merton, The Trappist Monk Who Died In 1968, Was One Of The Great Spiritual Writers Of The Twentieth Century. His Published Works Include A Hundred Volumes In Many Genres. But It Was Perhaps In The Essay That He Found His Natural Element. Especially In The Last Decade Of His Life, Merton Showed In His Essays An Increasing Willingness To Dispense With Pre-fabricated Conclusions, Bringing His Deeply Spiritual, Profoundly Catholic Sensibility To Bear On Matters Beyond The Usual Religious And Monastic Milieu. This Volume Is The First To Provide A Broad Cross-section Of Merton S Work As An Essayist, Collecting Pieces That Reflect Characteristic Examples Of His Astonishing Output And The Fantastic Breadth Of His Interests. The 33 Essays Collected Here Range From Interreligious Dialogue To Racial Justice, From The Wisdom Of The Desert Fathers To The Novels Of Faulkner And Camus, From The Nuclear Threat To The Philosophy Of Solitude, And Throughout, The Centrality Of The Christian Mystery To Authentic Human Identity. -- Publisher's Description. The White Pebble -- St. John Of The Cross -- Poetry And Contemplation: A Reappraisal -- Boris Pasternak And The People With Watch Chains -- The Recovery Of Paradise -- Notes For A Philosophy Of Solitude -- Theology Of Creativity -- Christian Culture Needs Oriental Wisdom -- Letter To Pablo Antonio Cuadra Concerning Giants -- Peace: A Religious Responsibility -- The Humanity Of Christ In Monastic Prayer -- Message To Poets -- A Tribute To Gandhi -- From Pilgrimage To Crusade -- Religion And Race In The United States -- Rain And The Rhinoceros -- The Contemplative Life In The Modern World -- Day Of A Stranger -- Symbolism: Communication Or Communion -- The Other Side Of Despair -- The Time Of The End Is The Time Of No Room -- Blessed Are The Meek -- Events And Pseudo-events -- The Spiritual Father In The Desert Tradition -- Is The World A Problem? -- A Christian Looks At Zen -- Terror And The Absurd -- The Monastic Renewal: Problems And Prospects -- Baptism In The Forest: Wisdom And Initiation In William Faulkner -- Ishi: A Meditation -- Learning To Live -- The Wild Places -- Final Integration. Thomas Merton ; Edited With An Introduction By Patrick F. O'connell. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 478-480) And Index.