armchair cultural observation since 1995

Tag Archive for ‘Thomas Merton’

A soul-searching journey

By Matthew Ralph Forty years ago today,a celebrated writer, poet, social activist and Trappist monk was electrocuted after stepping out of a bathtub in Bangkok and touching a short-circuited electric fan. The 53-year-old resident of the Abby of Gethsemani in rural Kentucky was Thomas Merton. Best known for his autobiographical best-seller “The Seven Storey Mountain,” […]

News and Notes: Merton documentary to debut

Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk who was one of the most important spiritual voices of the 20th century, is celebrated in a new PBS documentary by filmmaker Morgan Atkinson. Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton will air on Dec. 14, 2008, a few days after the 40th anniversary of Merton’s death on Dec. 10. […]

News and Notes: Conference to honor Merton

A weekend conference has been scheduled for late October to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Thomas Merton’s death and honor his personal vision for concerned individuals to dialogue, in a contemplative way, on the major issues confronting humanity. Contemplative living is defined as a practice that focuses on seeing life in the context of core […]