Merton Waugh

Effervescent Adventures with Britannia is the latest addition to Wm Roger Louis's stimulating and acclaimed series, Adventures with Britannia. It draws upon a distinguished array of writers and scholars - historians, political scientists, journalists, novelists, biographers and English literature specialists - to guide the reader through a fascinating labyrinth of British culture, history and politics. Together, they provide a unique insight into the pivotal themes - political, literary and cultural - which have shaped British state and society. The subjects covered include a new analysis of Jack the Ripper by Richard Davenport-Hines, a new appraisal of Harold Nicholson and Royal Biography by Jane Ridley and a new account of Evelyn Waugh in North America by Martin Stannard. In literature, Patrick French writes on V.S. Naipul; in history Andrew Lownie offers new perspectives on Guy Burgess and in politics Kenneth O. Morgan considers what will become of Britain after Brexit. Collectively, the chapters combine a rich mix of original ideas, historical and literary allusion, personality and anecdote, to provide an intellectual adventure into the mainsprings of modern British and international society.

A probing, candid exploration of Thomas Merton's life and writing from best-selling novelist and memoirist Mary Gordon. Thomas Merton (1815-1968) was a Trappist monk, poet, essayist, activist, and author of some of the most influential spiritual writing of the 20th century. He entered the Trappist monastery of Gethsemani in Kentucky as a young man in his twenties, seemingly abandoning the promising literary career that lay before him. But from the silent cloister in which he spent all but the last few weeks of his life, his influence spread worldwide through his writing, primarily on topics related to the spiritual life--a subject which he demonstrated to be very broad indeed. His life of dialogue led him to explore a range of contemplative practices, particularly Buddhism, and he was one of the pioneers in raising awareness of Buddhist philosophy and practice among Westerners. Mary Gordon, as a Catholic in critical dialogue with her church, came to explore Merton relatively late in her own journey, becoming fascinated with him as a fellow writer. She documents her exploration of Merton through his books--the ups and downs of the experience, areas of disagreement and sympathy, of annoyance and, ultimately, deep connection. It is a profoundly personal view of one of the great spiritual figures of our age, by an interpreter who, while disinclined to go easy on her famous subject, nevertheless reveals a great admiration and fascination with his life and work.

Presents 350 alphabetized entries on American Trappist monk, religious writer, and poet Thomas Merton, covering all of his published works as well as the persons, places, and themes that shaped his life.

Om den engelske forfatter og tegner Max Beerbohm (1872-1956)

Thomas Merton is one of the most important spiritual voices of the last century. He has never been more relevant as new generations look to him for guidance in addressing some of life's biggest questions: how can we find God, how should we engage with other faiths, and how can we oppose violence and injustice? Looking carefully, one can find, tucked away in Merton's prodigious writings, his response to another timeless question: Why do we suffer? Why does an all-powerful and all loving God permit evil and suffering? By carefully examining all of Merton's work, we find that he repeatedly confronted this question throughout most of his adult life. Intriguingly, Merton's approach to this question changed dramatically a few years before he died in 1968. An examination of all aspects of his life yields evidence that Merton's immersion in Zen during this time contributed most to that change.

Explores the wide range of scholarship on revision while bringing new light to bear on enduring questions in composition and rhetoric.

"This is the first biography to present, along with a comprehensive publishing history, a detailed picture with photographs and other previously unpublished illustrations of events significant to him."--BOOK JACKET.

Providing an intimate and timely view of Merton, this book traces the theme of peace and nonviolence in Merton's life and writings, drawing in particular on extensive correspondence with Jim Forest, a Merton biographer.

Solitude has always had an ambivalent status: the capacity to enjoy being alone can make sociability bearable, but those predisposed to solitude are often viewed with suspicion or pity. Drawing on a wide array of literary and historical sources, David Vincent explores how people have conducted themselves in the absence of company over the last three centuries. He argues that the ambivalent nature of solitude became a prominent concern in the modern era. For intellectuals in the romantic age, solitude gave respite to citizens living in ever more complex modern societies. But while the search for solitude was seen as a symptom of modern life, it was also viewed as a dangerous pathology: a perceived renunciation of the world, which could lead to psychological disorder and anti-social behaviour. Vincent explores the successive attempts of religious authorities and political institutions to manage solitude, taking readers from the monastery to the prisoner’s cell, and explains how western society’s increasing secularism, urbanization and prosperity led to the development of new solitary pastimes at the same time as it made traditional forms of solitary communion, with God and with a pristine nature, impossible. At the dawn of the digital age, solitude has taken on new meanings, as physical isolation and intense sociability have become possible as never before. With the advent of a so-called loneliness epidemic, a proper historical understanding of the natural human desire to disengage from the world is more important than ever. The first full-length account of its subject, A History of Solitude will appeal to a wide general readership.

Essays originally presented at the Evelyn Waugh Centenary Conference, held at Hertford College, Oxford, Sept. 24-27, 2003.