Thomas Merton (1915–1968)
Author of The Seven Storey Mountain
About the Author
Born in France, Thomas Merton was the son of an American artist and poet and her New Zealander husband, a painter. Merton lost both parents before he had finished high school, and his younger brother was killed in World War II. Something of the ephemeral character of human endeavor marked all his show more works, deepening the pathos of his writings and drawing him close to Eastern, especially Buddhist, forms of monasticism. After an initial education in the United States, France, and England, he completed his undergraduate degree at Columbia University. His parents, nominally friends, had given him little religious guidance, and in 1938, he converted to Roman Catholicism. The following year he received an M.A. from Columbia University and in 1941, he entered Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky, where he remained until a short time before his death. His working life was spent as a Trappist monk. At Gethsemani, he wrote his famous autobiography, "The Seven Storey Mountain" (1948); there he labored and prayed through the days and years of a constant regimen that began with daily prayer at 2:00 a.m. As his contemplative life developed, he still maintained contact with the outside world, his many books and articles increasing steadily as the years went by. Reading them, it is hard to think of him as only a "guilty bystander," to use the title of one of his many collections of essays. He was vehement in his opposition to the Vietnam War, to the nuclear arms race, to racial oppression. Having received permission to leave his monastery, he went on a journey to confer with mystics of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. He was accidentally electrocuted in a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 10, 1968. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Thomas Merton in Pictures
From the archives of the Thomas Merton Center.
Used with permission of the Merton Legacy Trust.
Series
Works by Thomas Merton
Run to the Mountain: The Story of a Vocation (The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume One 1939-1941) (1995) 407 copies
The Journals of Thomas Merton, Vol. 2, 1941-1952: Entering the Silence - Becoming a Monk & Writer (1996) 297 copies
A Search for Solitude: Pursuing the Monk's True LifeThe Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 3: 1952-1960 (Merton,… (1996) 204 copies
The last of the Fathers; Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and the encyclical letter, Doctor Mellifluus (1954) 170 copies
Turning Toward the World: The Pivotal Years (The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 4: 1960-1963) (1996) 169 copies
The hidden ground of love : the letters of Thomas Merton on religious experience and social concerns (1985) 168 copies
Learning to Love: Exploring Solitude and Freedom (Merton, Thomas//Journal of Thomas Merton) (1997) 162 copies
The Other Side of the Mountain: The End of the Journey (Merton, Thomas//Journal of Thomas Merton) (1998) 152 copies
The Courage for Truth: The Letters of Thomas Merton to Writers (The Thomas Merton letters series) (1993) 114 copies
The School of Charity: The Letters of Thomas Merton on Religious Renewal and Spiritual Direction (1990) 104 copies
What are these wounds? : the life of a Cistercian mystic, Saint Lutgarde of Aywières (1948) 87 copies
Thomas Merton: A Life in Letters: The Essential Collection (Merton, Thomas//Journal of Thomas Merton) (2008) 84 copies
Through the Year With Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Writings (1985) — Author — 78 copies
A course in Christian mysticism : thirteen sessions with the famous Trappist monk Thomas Merton (2017) 49 copies
Discovering the Hidden Ground of Love (Bridges to Contemplative Living With Thomas Merton Series) (2007) 30 copies
An Introduction to Christian Mysticism: Initiation Into the Monastic Tradition, 3 (Monastic Wisdom series) (Bk. 3) (2008) 24 copies
The Life of the Vows: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition (Volume 30) (Monastic Wisdom Series) (2012) 22 copies
The Rule of Saint Benedict: Initiation Into the Monastic Tradition 4 (Monastic Wisdom) (2009) 22 copies
Pre-Benedictine Monasticism: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 2 (Monastic Wisdom) (2007) 21 copies
Merton & Judaism: Holiness in Words: Recognition, Repentance, and Renewal (The Fons Vitae Thomas Merton series) (2003) 17 copies
Monastic Observances: Initiation Into the Monastic Tradition 5 (Monastic Wisdom - Cistercian Publications) (1976) 15 copies
In the Valley of Wormwood: Cistercian Blessed and Saints of the Golden Age (Cistercian Studies) (2013) 12 copies
Charter, Customs, and Constitutions of the Cistercians: Initiation Into the Monastic Tradition 7 (Monastic Wisdom… (2015) 9 copies
Letters from Tom: Thomas Merton Writes about Nuclear Weapons, Black/White Encounters, Authority in the Church, and… (1983) 8 copies
The Spirit of simplicity : characteristic of the Cistercian Order : an official report, demanded and approved by the… (1948) 7 copies
Merton & the Tao: Dialogues with John Wu and the Ancient Sages (The Fons Vitae Thomas Merton series) (2013) 6 copies
Szukanie Boga 5 copies
Paz en tiempos de oscuridad : el testamento profético de Merton sobre la guerra y la paz (2006) 4 copies
The Cistercian Fathers and their monastic theology : initiation into the monastic tradition 8 (2016) 3 copies
Oplettende toeschouwer 3 copies
Meatyard / Merton: Photographing Thomas Merton (The Fons Vitae Thomas Merton series) (2014) 3 copies
Sign of Jonas, The 3 copies
Medieval Cistercian History: Initiation into the Monastic Tradition 9 (Monastic Wisdom Series) (2019) 3 copies
Overpeinzingen van een christen 3 copies
Vida i santedat 3 copies
A Oração Contemplativa 3 copies
EL PAN VIVO. 1ª edición española. 2 copies
Semi di cintemplazione 2 copies
Null n'est une ile 2 copies
Nuovi semi di contemplazione 2 copies
The climate of monastic prayer. 2 copies
The Thomas Merton Studies Center (Volume One) — Contributor, some editions — 2 copies
Merton 2 copies
Zen, tao et nirvâna : esprit et contemplation en extrême-orient. préface par marco pallis.… (2015) 2 copies
Un' equilibrata vita di preghiera 2 copies
Life and Prayer: The Desert Source 2 copies
Sementes de destruição 1 copy
Thomas Merton Reader, A 1 copy
Sacred Silence - Festival of Faiths, Pathway to Compassion (A Series on Compassion - May 14-19, 2013 - Louisville,… (2013) 1 copy
Nul n'est une le 1 copy
La Montée vers la Lumière 1 copy
La vida silenciosa 1 copy
Le Signe de Jonas 1 copy
Wie der Mond stirbt. Das letzte Tagebuch des Thomas Merton ( Asian Journal): Sonderausgabe. (1985) 1 copy
Marta,Maria e Lazaro 1 copy
O Homem Novo 1 copy
New secrets of contemplation 1 copy
Le Nuit Privée d'Étoiles 1 copy
a igreja e o mundo sem deus 1 copy
Na Liberdade da Solidão 1 copy
Diálogos com o Silêncio 1 copy
Fjellet med de syv trinn 1 copy
The Genesee Diary 1 copy
Pierwotny ideał karmelu 1 copy
eremitas do saccidananda 1 copy
The Camaldolese Way 1 copy
O pão vivo 1 copy
Il monaco 1 copy
The Desert fathers 1 copy
Tiempos de celebración 1 copy
THE SOLITARY LIFE: A Letter of Guigo Introduced and Translated from the Latin by Thomas Merton (1963) 1 copy
Cablogrammi e profezie 1 copy
Does God Hear Our Prayer? 1 copy
CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE 1 copy
Love 1 copy
Luč nevidne resnice 1 copy
Diarios / Journals: 1960-1968. La Vida Intima De Un Gran Maestro Espiritual / the Intimate Life of a Great Spiritual… (2001) 1 copy
La preghiera dei salmi 1 copy
Il Papa di Maria Vergine 1 copy
Duh 1 copy
Life and God’s Love 1 copy
Essential Writing 1 copy
LA EXPERIENCIA INTERNA 1 copy
Life and Contemplation 1 copy
Life and Prophecy 1 copy
Life and Truth 1 copy
Life and Community 1 copy
Life and Work 1 copy
Life and Celebration 1 copy
Words of Peace 1 copy
Natural Contemplation 1 copy
Alone With God 1 copy
Thomas Merton y Ernesto Cardenal / Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal: Correspondencia, 1959-1968 / Correspondence,… (2003) 1 copy
Hidden Ground of Love; The Letters of Thomas Merton on Religious Experience and Social Concerns 1 copy
Cuestiones discutidas 1 copy
Zen, wijsheid en leegheid 1 copy
Cargo theology 1 copy
Cassian: Trials and Belief 1 copy
Associated Works
Gandhi on Non-Violence: A Selection From the Writings of Mahatma Gandi (1964) — Editor, some editions — 336 copies
Merton & Buddhism: (The Fons Vitae Thomas Merton series) (2007) — Photographer, some editions — 32 copies
Merton & Hesychasm: The Prayer of the Heart & the Eastern Church (The Fons Vitae Thomas Merton series) (2003) — Contributor — 28 copies
Clement of Alexandria Selections from the Protreptikos (1962) — Essay, some editions; Translator, some editions — 12 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Merton, Thomas
- Other names
- Fr. Louis
MERTON, Thomas - Birthdate
- 1915-01-31
- Date of death
- 1968-12-10
- Burial location
- Gethsemani Abbey, Bardstown, Kentucky, USA
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- France (birth)
USA - Birthplace
- Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
- Place of death
- Mueang Samut Prakan, Thailand
- Cause of death
- electrocution
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Saint-Antonin, Midi-Pyrénées, France
Montauban, Midi-Pyrénées, France
Ealing, Greater London, England, UK
Ripley, Surrey, England, UK
Olean, New York, USA (show all 8)
Bardstown, Kentucky, USA
Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, Kentucky, USA - Education
- Lycée Ingres, Montauban
Ripley Court School, Ripley
University of Cambridge (Clare College)
Columbia University (BA|1938|MA|1939) - Occupations
- monk (Trappist)
novelist
poet
college teacher - Organizations
- Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Ordained, 1949)
Members
Reviews
Lists
Spirituality (1)
1940s (1)
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 366
- Also by
- 36
- Members
- 32,185
- Popularity
- #604
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 322
- ISBNs
- 696
- Languages
- 20
- Favorited
- 85