Merton turns 89 years old…

Thomas Merton, Trappist monk, best selling writer on the meaning of spirituality, poet and social critic, continues to be an influential voice long after he was silenced by his death on December 10, 1968. Books by and about him are published every year.

The Thomas Merton Center held its annual celebration of his birthday (January 31, 1915) and his life on Sunday, February 1 at 3:00 pm at the Interfaith Center in Oakland. The church echoed with Merton’s melodic chanting as a cozy gathering of 30 people filtered in for a film biography on Merton’s life followed by poetry and discussion on his works and teachings.

And the spirit of Merton was truly present that day, said Molly Rush. When it came time to play the video, mysterious technical difficulties prevented her from doing so – just as Merton, well known for his technophobia and bumbling sense of electronic equipment, would have had it. However, the film will be available for TMC members to view or borrow at the Center’s lending library. It includes interviews with the Dalai Lama, Ernesto Cardenal, Joan Baez and poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Next, Dennis Brutus, South African poet and professor at the University of Pittsburgh, gave an introduction to Merton’s poetry, its links to other known writers and genres (such as the Beats and also the Berrigans) and praised Merton’s openness to spirituality of other religions – some that are older and more mystical than many of us may be aware of. Brutus touched on Merton’s passionate desire for peace, his opposition to war and the US military and his concern with the development of nuclear weapons.

Molly Rush read "Man is the Saddest Animal," followed by excerpts recited by Bette McDevitt, Maryanne Novy, Cary Lund (who read "Cheeses for Jesus"), and Barb Finch – who touched on a period in which Merton was going deeper and deeper into contemplating silence and solitude. Anne Steytler, Suzanne Pollen and Edith Bell also contributed with short readings.

The event ended with a more informal discussion of Merton, his human-side and the contradictions he lived as a non-perfect being that make him much more real and accessible.

The Merton Center, founded in 1972, just four years after Merton’s death and during the war in Vietnam, was named for the Trappist monk who, early in the war, broke the silence – his own as a member of the strict Trappist order, and that of the Catholic Church – by publicly opposing the war. Initially his superiors forbade him to publish his writings on peace so they circulated in mimeograph form.

His first best seller, "The Seven Story Mountain," was followed by a procession of books on a wide range of topics, from "Seeds of Contemplation," "Zen and the Birds of Appetite," to a collection, "Merton on Peace" and "Gandhi on Nonviolence" and "The Asian Journal." The TMC has many of his works in the lending library for members to borrow.

- Marie Skoczylas

Dennis Brutus (left), the group of attendees listen to Merton's poetry (middle), Molly Rush (right).
(Photos by Marie Skoczylas)