This volume includes pieces on eleventh- and twelfth-century monastics by Thomas Merton, perhaps the most significant American Catholic spiritual writer of the twentieth century. The essays are difficult to locate elsewhere, the conference transcriptions are available only here.
Thomas Merton (1915-1968), Catholic convert, Cistercian monk and hermit, priest, poet, contemplative, social critic, peace advocate and pioneer in interreligious dialogue, was the author of more than seventy volumes, including meditations, essays, journals, letters and poetry. Among Merton's most enduring works is his bestselling autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain.