{"product_id":"from-the-monastery-to-the-thomas-merton-9781640091559","title":"From the Monastery to the World: The Letters of Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal","description":"Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal were both poets and priests, wholly committed to a life of spiritual contemplation which was never far from the gritty work that lead them to risk life and reputation in order to raise worldwide consciousness concerning issues of social justice and the abuse of human rights. \u003ci\u003eFrom the Monastery to the World\u003c\/i\u003e collects the complete correspondence between these spiritual men and dedicated activists, translated into English for the first time. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe letters in this book, written between Merton and Cardenal from 1959-1968, give us fascinating insights into the early spiritual and political awakenings of eventual Sandinista and exponent of liberation theology Ernesto Cardenal, who was then a novice leaving the Trappist Monastery in Kentucky where he first met Merton. While making the long trip home to Nicaragua to build a utopian artist's commune on the Island of Solentiname, Cardenal rubs elbows with some of Latin America's greatest writers and artists of that time. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eFrom the Monastery to the World\u003c\/i\u003e, Cardenal is still a hungry pupil, years away from becoming the internationally renowned poet-statesman and Nicaraguan Minister of Culture. Here we see the poet and monk Thomas Merton as a wise, patient, and sometimes even humbled mentor, during the years when he was still shaping and collecting the raw materials for such writings as: \u003ci\u003e\"The Way of Chuang Tzu\"\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e\"Raids on the Unspeakable\"\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003e\"Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander\"\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMerton and Cardenal's correspondence grants readers an audience to conversations between two men deeply connected by their vigorous endeavors toward spiritual freedom, voracious intellectual appetites, and artistic exploration despite the cultural differences, language barriers, and geographic distances which divide them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Thomas Merton, Ernesto Cardenal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1640091556\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781640091559\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Catapult\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/11\/2018\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.70h x 5.70w x 1.00d","brand":"Thomas Merton","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43984797139199,"sku":"9781640091559","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_891bcf8e-ba3d-43c9-a960-df697ca7c239.jpg?v=1683274219","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/from-the-monastery-to-the-thomas-merton-9781640091559","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}