This book is not available to purchase on Fable
From the Monastery to the World: The Letters of Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal
ByPublisher Description
This correspondence, full of warmth, candor, and humor, reflects the friendship of two men who worked to reconcile their intense spirituality with an urgent sense of social justice in a violent and troubled time.
From the Monastery to the World collects the correspondence between two of the best-known poet-priests of the twentieth century, Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal. The letters of Father Cardenal are translated into English here for the first time.
The young Nicaraguan poet Cardenal first came under the tutelage of Merton as a novice at a Trappist monastery in rural Kentucky in 1957. The letters they wrote to each other between 1959 and Merton's death in 1968 give readers a fascinating glimpse into the spiritual and political struggles of Merton―then the most famous writer about spiritual matters in the English-speaking world―and Cardenal, the seminarian and priest who had left monastic silence to build a utopian community in his native land and later became a revolutionary and Minister of Culture for Nicaragua's Sandinista government.
These are the years when Merton deepens his readings in Zen Buddhism and Chinese Taoism, when the civil rights movement in the United States and the international movement against the nuclear arms race intensifies his sense of the need for social engagement. These are the years Cardenal is ordained as a Catholic priest and begins to create the spiritual community on the island of Solentiname, which would propel him to the front of the movement that became known as Liberation Theology, even as the reactionary forces in Central and Latin America waged a ruthless war against the Church's social reformers.
From the Monastery to the World collects the correspondence between two of the best-known poet-priests of the twentieth century, Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal. The letters of Father Cardenal are translated into English here for the first time.
The young Nicaraguan poet Cardenal first came under the tutelage of Merton as a novice at a Trappist monastery in rural Kentucky in 1957. The letters they wrote to each other between 1959 and Merton's death in 1968 give readers a fascinating glimpse into the spiritual and political struggles of Merton―then the most famous writer about spiritual matters in the English-speaking world―and Cardenal, the seminarian and priest who had left monastic silence to build a utopian community in his native land and later became a revolutionary and Minister of Culture for Nicaragua's Sandinista government.
These are the years when Merton deepens his readings in Zen Buddhism and Chinese Taoism, when the civil rights movement in the United States and the international movement against the nuclear arms race intensifies his sense of the need for social engagement. These are the years Cardenal is ordained as a Catholic priest and begins to create the spiritual community on the island of Solentiname, which would propel him to the front of the movement that became known as Liberation Theology, even as the reactionary forces in Central and Latin America waged a ruthless war against the Church's social reformers.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesNo Reviews
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Why can’t I buy this ebook on Fable?
Can I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
