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Echoing Silence: Thomas Merton on the Vocation of Writing

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A poignant collection of excerpts of Thomas Merton's writing, spanning his entire monastic writing career: from his journals, personal letters, essays, and books.

Thomas Merton, of course, is an internationally acclaimed and respected writer and contemplative. If you are interested in art (writing and poetry specifically) and contemplative spirituality, or simply interested in Thomas Merton, I highly recommend this book.

Before this book, beginners in the contemplative-artistic scene had to either read about Merton second hand (which is not as enriching as reading him directly) or dive into his mass of writing (which can be disorienting).

The chapters are arranged by topic: Writing as a Spiritual Calling, Poetry, Other Writers, His Own Writing, etc. Inside each chapter, the excerpts are arranged chronologically. The later Merton is deep and balanced--his material is to be chewed by the mature--but at the same time, the thoughts of early Merton are invaluable to young, contemplative-artists. This book represents both--providing, incidentally, a cross section of his personal growth.

This book is one to read all at once to get an overview of Merton (and the development of his thoughts), and then to hold on to for years, rereading small segments.

"Only in His silence can the truth of words be distinguished" is only one of the many aphoristic gems to be found in this collection of Merton writings edited by Robert Inchausti. Overall, it is a fine collection, but unfortunately, it is only a collection. Merton's vocation as a writer was hardly an easy calling. "Echoing Silence" does reveal those difficulties, but without some biographical narrative or explanatory notes to accompany the selections, one is left to enjoy Merton's profound insights isolated from the larger context. If you are familiar with Merton, you can appreciate the texts dealing with his difficulties in creativity and inner truth, between "writer" and "poet," contemplative monk and world famous author, but if you are new to Merton, you will probably come away not fully appreciating the growth Merton went through in dealing with his internal conflicts and finding his "voice." His external conflicts are also represented here, but without some clarifications from Robert Inchausti, his difficulties with Dom Gabriel Sortais, one of Merton's censors, are lost. I do recommend the book as a good collection, but with reservations owing to its lack of background commentary or explanatory notes.

I treasure every Thomas Merton book I read. His simple, clear language,humility,and great piety draw one instantly into an appreciation his monastic life and his relationship to the world. He shows us how to encounter God's love in our own lives,and his book on writing makes clear that writing must come from the true self, the self as created by God. And he does this right in the middle of the world. To be a saint, Merton said, a man must first become himself. This also applies to writers who, if they are to accomplish the task of communicating, must communicate God.

Merton's vocation as a writer was at the heart of his Monastic vocation and it is wonderful to have this collection of his own reflections on this subject.