Thomas Merton's Gethsemani: Landscapes of Paradise [Hardcover]

Harry L. Hinkle (Photographer), Jonathan Montaldo (Introduction), Patrick Hart (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2005

" Introduction by Jonathan Montaldo Foreword by Brother Patrick Hart, OCSO For twenty-seven years, renowned and beloved monk Thomas Merton (1915-1968) belonged to Our Lady of Gethsemani, a Trappist monastery established in 1848 amid the hills and valleys near Bardstown, Kentucky. In Thomas Merton's Gethsemani, dramatic black-and-white photographs by Harry L. Hinkle and artful text by Merton scholar Monica Weis converge in a unique experience for lovers of Merton. Hinkle was allowed unprecedented access to many areas inside the monastery and on its grounds that are generally restricted. His photographs invite the reader to experience the various knobs, lakes, woods, and hermitages Merton sought out for times of solitude and contemplation and for reading and writing. These unique images, each accompanied by a passage from Merton's writings, evoke personal reflection and a deeper understanding of how and why Merton came to recognize himself as a part of his Kentucky landscape. Woven throughout the book, Weis's text explores Merton's fascination with nature not only at Gethsemani, but during his early childhood, throughout his spiritual conversion to Roman Catholicism, and while a member of the Trappist community. She examines how Merton's lifelong interaction with nature subtly revealed and informed his profound spiritual experiences and his writing about contemplation. Thomas Merton's Gethsemani replicates Merton's path on his solitary hikes in the woods and conveys the wonder of the landscapes that inspired him.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Most probably associate Gethsemani, the monastery in central Kentucky, with the monk, theologian, and activist Thomas Merton, author of the best-selling spiritual autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948), whose home it was for many fruitful years. This handsome book combines words and photographs that every Merton admirer will appreciate. Weis' text discusses how Merton's love of nature and commitment to the contemplative life came together at Gethsemani. Hinkle's striking black-and-white photographs complement the text in many ways and are accompanied by excerpts from Merton's nature writings (a number of Merton's photos also appear). Jonathan Montaldo offers an elegant introduction that serves as a miniature Merton biography. Most of all, the photographs linger in the mind's eye. Hinkle's roaming camera preserves the essence of Gethsemani--a sea of white crosses in a lonely cemetery, mist rising from the valley, a weathered wooden chair at the edge of an orchard--capturing the simplicity of life stripped to its barest essentials in an elegiac portrait of an earthly paradise. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"This handsome book combines words and photographs that every Merton admirer will appreciate.... Hinkle's roaming camera preserves the essence of Gethsemani" -- Booklist

"Will live beyond books that have treated Mertons poetry, religious commentary and social criticism in a vacuum. It brings together in one volume the images that inspired the words and the words drawn from the images." -- Bowling Green (KY) Daily News

"Both the casual visitor to Gethsemani and the Merton scholar will find this book a valuable addition to their library." -- Catholic Telegraph

"Hinkle's sublime artwork is impressive and inspiring.... Weis has produced the text which artfully conveys how Merton's lifelong interaction with nature revealed and inspired his spiritual experiences, his contemplations, and writings." -- Chevy Chaser/Southsider

"Combines some of Merton's photographs and writings with Hinkle's dramatic black and white photographs and the narrative of three gifted writers to convey the contemplative setting that was Merton's home for twenty-seven years." -- Contemplation & Action

"This beautify volume documents Merton's environment, both monastic and natural....Those interested in American nature writing, art photography, spirituality, and the influence of place upon personal development will welcome this beautifully produced, insightfully written, and contemplative volume." -- ISLE

"Hinkle's stunning photographs, and the text which accompanies them, allow us to see Merton's monastic world with that fresh eye which Thomas Merton himself insisted was the gift of contemplation." -- Lawrence S. Cunningham, University of Notre Dame

"In this life, on this earth, Gethsemani was Merton's paradise. Hinkle and Weis artfully show how Merton learned and grew spiritually in this paradise, and, by implication, how others might do so, too." -- Lexington Herald-Leader

"Lovingly recreates the Trappist monastery where Merton lived for 27 years." -- Louisville Courier-Journal

"An evocative book of photographs memorably wed with a remarkable essay." -- Merton Seasonal

"Harry Hinkle's superb photographs do for 'Merton Country' what Herbert Gleason did many years ago for Thoreau-provide a vivid record of the landscapes and natural phenomena that inspired the author-and Monica Weis' lucid tracing of both the chronological breadth and spiritual depth of Merton's reflections on his environment reveal why and how the natural world served Merton as a revelation of the Creator." -- Patrick F. O'Connell, coeditor of The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia

"An artful combination of lovely photographs by Harry L. Hinkle, illuminated by Merton's own words, and an insightful essay by Monica Weis help the reader experience Merton's spiritual interaction with his physical environment." -- Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"A fine contribution not only to art photography, but to Merton scholarship and will be welcomed by those unlikely to visit Merton's Gethsemani and those who know it well." -- Spirituality

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky; First Edition edition (June 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813123488
• ISBN-13: 978-0813123486
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,175,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thomas Merton--being alive, October 10, 2005

By 

a working playwright "Richard A" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thomas Merton's Gethsemani: Landscapes of Paradise (Hardcover)

Mr. Hinkles evocative and enduring photographs and Ms. Weis' lyrical
text complement each other in support of Thomas Merton's enormous life. This is a precious text largely because it celebrates the courage to
simply be. One can read about Merton's contemplative life and very nearly be with him--in his light under the trees and sky and birds which
are fundamental and which were so essential to his routine, his daily
habit. Weis' text in particular is a carefully crafted essay--both probing and reverential. The book is an acheivement.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thomas Mertson's Gethsemani, November 22, 2005

By 

Ann Patrice Carrigan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thomas Merton's Gethsemani: Landscapes of Paradise (Hardcover)

Thomas Merton's Gethsemani, Landscapes of Paradise by Monica Weis was, for me, a worthwhile read on a number of levels. Her premise was fascinating namely that Merton expanded his soul and grew progressively in his relationship with God by embracing not only the rules and rigors of monasticism but the mini-universe of the physical monastery, the land of Gethsemani itself. Weis details Merton's apprehension of this "paradise" with deceptive simplicity - the hills, rivers, storms, birds, smells and rhythms not only beckon him to deeper solititude but lead him into expanding realization, prayer and praise. And that for me, was the core accomplishment of the book. Weis never goes over the top. Her writing is clear and definite without strain, puffery or poetry. Rather the poetry of the book is her step by step detailing of the changes occuring within Merton himself as he allows Gethsemani - its physicality and metaphor - into his mind and heart. She traces the contours of a dynamic, poetic soul and the book shares the movement. Haley's black and white pictures of Gethsemani are simultaneously homey and mysterious; each invites a second look, a revaluation of your first response. His photography and Weis's premise go hand in hand. I remember one shot of a night sky - a black expanse spangled with hundreds of stars. It is sweeping and dramatic, far more majestic than those of woods, sheds and farm tools. Yet it locked perfectly with Weis's final chapters on Merton's (mystic) experience of a palpable unity; his sense that the world's religions have a common source and his full embrace of the METAPHOR he lived at Gethsemani. The book was my summer's morning read - a chapter a day with a cup of Starbuck's! A good way to start a day.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars expanding horizons, September 11, 2005

By 

"the mail lady "no more "book worm" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thomas Merton's Gethsemani: Landscapes of Paradise (Hardcover)

I'll admit. I bought this book because the photographer, Harry Hinkle, is my cousin's husband.BUT.. I found myself drawn past the incredible photography of both Merton Thomas and Harry to the moving and insightful writing. The sheer joy of life reflected in the words AND photographs of this book, make me want to look at everything with new eyes and heart.