tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203540398221136334.post963988565467551133..comments2023-07-02T10:15:44.135+02:00Comments on On Pilgrimage: Thomas Merton: a poster boy?Jim and Nancy Foresthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10141909736478413386noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203540398221136334.post-76568164940394487862010-01-19T19:50:27.523+01:002010-01-19T19:50:27.523+01:00Whatever possesses people to do such things? What...Whatever possesses people to do such things? What grave perceived harm did the author receive (at the hands of the Catholic Church, one imagines) that left him so petulantly inclined toward the prurient? (Cinema buffs can only hope that he does not train his sights on Chaplin next...where I fear he would find fodder for an even fatter book.)Alex Paticonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203540398221136334.post-13506263137939897162010-01-19T02:02:26.937+01:002010-01-19T02:02:26.937+01:00Jim - I add my thanks for your thoughtful review o...Jim - I add my thanks for your thoughtful review of Shaw's book. I was shocked by the promotional material for this book when it came out a couple of months ago, especially a video 'trailer' that was very lurid. That alone should warn people off. This is not a scholarly or a spiritually oriented piece of work. Your credible voice gives perspective and is valuable. As you pointed out there is nothing "new" here - Merton's issues as a college student are well known. I became aware of his relationship with M. in the mid 1980s through reading John Howard Griffin's Follow the Ecstasy, published originally in 1983. No new here, just a histrionic interpretation of a great man's humanity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203540398221136334.post-91255860044430036802010-01-18T23:55:06.688+01:002010-01-18T23:55:06.688+01:00Jim, I fear you are correct. Our writing will alw...Jim, I fear you are correct. Our writing will always out the author. Father Louis clearly wrote directly about himself and not as this author did - squinting with venom from the sidelines. I think Merton was clearly honest about his emotion, desires, and actions. His very wrestling honesty is what tends to lull us dear readers into his work - it helps reveal our own selves and the processes we spin off in the living. Thanks for the review. Peace. +TJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13503049999183822484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203540398221136334.post-76246093293456963152010-01-18T19:05:27.901+01:002010-01-18T19:05:27.901+01:00Thanks Jim for writing this review. I feel so sad ...Thanks Jim for writing this review. I feel so sad and sick by that book - thank God, every year dozens of good new books on Merton are published world wide. The author of that ugly book didn't even take time to do serious research, as you highlight it. Merton was not the type of guy to hide anything! and he wrote lots about all this in his Journals as you said. Thanks Jim. Emmaemma cazabonnehttp://www.rocksbyemmanuelle.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203540398221136334.post-61395113702185652892010-01-17T17:28:47.632+01:002010-01-17T17:28:47.632+01:00A good friend made this comment by e-mail: "B...A good friend made this comment by e-mail: "Beneath the what of WHAT??? Merton was the most unmasked man ever. Self-unmasked, I mean."Jim and Nancy Foresthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10141909736478413386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203540398221136334.post-9367242512565618672010-01-16T22:40:28.769+01:002010-01-16T22:40:28.769+01:00I add my thanks, Jim, for your thoughtful review o...I add my thanks, Jim, for your thoughtful review of this book. It is precisely the authentic human/spiritual mix throughout Merton’s journey that appeals to, and informs, so many of us in our own journeys. The seeming sensational dichotomy you note in the author’s approach to Merton is not uncommon in those who perhaps have not read carefully and reflected deeply on Merton’s thoughts and prayers. Thanks, again.Ted Stepp, Marshall Islandsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8203540398221136334.post-44556017475118437422010-01-16T08:46:35.538+01:002010-01-16T08:46:35.538+01:00Thanks Jim for the review 'the good one does o...Thanks Jim for the review 'the good one does or is sadly lies in a grave...and the picadillos of misdirected passions paint billboards' How juvenile and low state of consciousness to conjecture conspiracies.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04839129078419832680noreply@blogger.com