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Angelic Mistakes: The Art of Thomas Merton

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Angelic Mistakes: The Art Of Thomas Merton by Roger Lipsey is a descriptive collection and history of works of art created by the mind and hand of Catholic theologian and hermit-monk Thomas Merton during the last decade of his life and which until now has remained largely unknown to the general public. Providing readers with a compendium of Merton's work with each piece being accompanied by an extensive caption, Angelic Mistakes is a "must" for anyone who has read and appreciated Merton's writings, as well as a choice selection as a church, seminary, and academic library "Memorial Fund" acquisition.

This is a wonderful book for several reasons. It has great pictures done by Merton coupled with his writings that often reveal common ground between image and word. It also has thoughtful essays that explore the sources of inspiration for Mertons' art and writing-sources as diverse as Japanese calligraphy and contemporary art. What emerges from this book is how Merton was very much like the classic Asian poet artists that he admired. Roger Lipsey has put something wonderful together in this book-he combed through hundreds of essays and pieces of art to find powerful pairings of word and art.The research for this book is impressive-Lipsey writes of Merton's creative process, his sources of inspiration and how he learned from a variety of teachers in East and West.And here's another reason to check this book out-what does the art of a spiritual master look like?