Synopses & Reviews
The '60s were a time of restlessness, inner turmoil and exuberance for Merton, a time during which he closely followed the careening development of political and social activism -- Martin Luther King Jr., and the March on Selma; the Catholic Worker Movement; the Vietnam War and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Volume 5 chronicles the approach of Merton's fiftieth birthday and marks his move to Mount Olivet, his hermitage at the Abbey of Gethsemani, where he was finally able to embrace fully the joys and challenges of solitary life: "In the hermitage, one must pray or go to seed. The pretense of prayer will not suffice. Just sitting will not suffice... Solitude puts you with your back to the wall (or your face to it!), and this is good" (October 13, 1964).
Making his struggles and his happiness practically tangible on these pages, Merton was never a better writer than in his journals. His gifts are as abundantly clear in this volume as in its predecessors."'Publishers Weekly"Merton at his best: sophisticated, honest, humorous, and mystical."'Kirkus Reviews
"When all the journals are published, it is likely that they will take their place with the famous journals of Henry David Thoreau, G. M. Hopkins, Edmund Wilson, and perhaps be seen as an American version of St. Augustine's `Confessions.'"'Catholic News Service
Synopsis
In the fifth volume of the acclaimed journals of Thomas Merton, the renowned monk and writer immerses in the revolutionary ideas of the sixties and begins to live full-time at his Gethsemani hermitage.
Documenting the Most Turbulent and Exuberant period of the sixties, Merton responds passionately to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s civil rights activism, the Vietnam War, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He emerges as a free spirit, challenging the powers that be in Gethsemani and Washington, while exploring every spiritual, literary, and personal link to a more meaningful life and embracing the ecstasies and challenges of solitude. Merton continues to fascinate, and this year, the thirtieth anniversary of his death, he will be more widely examined and celebrated than ever.
"Making his struggles and his happiness practically tangible on these pages, Merton was never a better writer than in his journals. His gifts are as abundantly clear in this volume as in its predecessors". -- Publishers Weekly
"{D}elightful ... brilliant social, political and personal commentaries". -- New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a Trappist monk, writer, and peace and civil rights activist. Merton's works have had a profound impact on contemporary religious and philosophical thought. He is best known for his autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain and New Seeds of Contemplation.
Table of Contents
v. 1. Run to the mountain / edited by Patrick Hart -- v. 2. Entering the silence / edited by Jonathan Montaldo -- v. 3. A search for solitude / edited by Lawrence S. Cunningham -- v. 4. Turning toward the world / edited by Victor A. Kramer -- v. 5. Dancing in the water of life / edited by Robert E. Daggy -- v. 6. Learning to love / edited by Christine M. Bochen -- v. 7. The other side of the mountain / edited by Patrick Hart.