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Thomas Merton and James Laughton: Selected Letters
Contributor(s): Merton, Thomas (Author), Laughlin, James (Author), Cooper, David D. (Editor)

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 ISBN: 0393340031     ISBN-13: 9780393340037
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
OUR PRICE: $28.50  

Binding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & Editions
Published: June 1997
Qty:
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography
- Literary Collections | Letters
- Literary Criticism | Poetry
Dewey: B
Physical Information: 0.97" H x 5.5" W x 8.5" L (1.21 lbs) 434 pages
Themes:
- Theometrics - Catholic
- Theometrics - Mainline
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
Thomas Merton may have seemed an unlikely candidate for a best-selling author. Cloistered in a remote Kentucky monastery, Merton struggled as a young man to reconcile the contemplative life he sought as a monk and his very public passion for writing. Publisher James Laughlin saw Merton's talent and played the muse, encouraging him with the poems, essays, and diaries of other writers and publishing nearly everything Merton sent in return.

Ironically, the very society Merton rejected upon entering the monastery embraced his work, bringing him publishing success only dreamed of by more eager authors. Soon Merton discovered he had a podium, a voice, and a responsibility that weighed as heavily on him as his previous quest for silence. Laughlin's encouragement remained constant throughout, as political ally, publishing adviser, and supporting friend.

Nearly thirty years of rich correspondence documents this strong literary and personal relationship and traces the remarkable development of Merton's vision: from an early focus on matters internal and religious, to a tremendous world view encompassing issues of race, politics, war, and the spiritual decay of modern society.

Contributor Bio(s): Cooper, David D.: - David D. Cooper is a professor in the Department of American Thought and Language at Michigan State University.Merton, Thomas: - Thomas Merton (1915-1968) entered the Cistercian Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, following his conversion to Catholicism and was ordained Father M. Louis in 1949. During the 1960s, he was increasingly drawn into a dialogue between Eastern and Western religions and domestic issues of war and racism. In 1968, the Dalai Lama praised Merton for having a more profound knowledge of Buddhism than any other Christian he had known. Thomas Merton is the author of the beloved classic The Seven Storey Mountain.
 
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