A Meeting of Angels: The Correspondence of Thomas Merton with Edward Deming & Faith Andrews - Hardcover

Paul M. Pearson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0972114491 ISBN 13: 9780972114493

Publisher: Broadstone Books, 2008

Synopsis

In November 1960 the noted scholar of Shaker life and craft, Edward Deming Andrews, wrote to Thomas Merton offering assistance with a book on the religion of the Shakers that he had heard Merton was planning. Though nothing came of that book, the ensuing correspondence between Merton and Andrews, and after Andrews' death in 1964 with his widow and collaborator Faith, itself became a spirited and spiritual examination and celebration of the lives and legacy of the Shakers.

Here for the first time, Dr. Paul M. Pearson introduces and brings together both sides of this correspondence, allowing the reader to delight in both the interplay of ideas and inspiration, and the growth of sincere affection, that occurred between Merton and the Andrews through their shared vocation.

The correspondence is supplemented by a selection of Merton's photographs of the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Kentucky, newly identified with captions supplied by Pleasant Hill Curator Larrie S. Curry. A review of the Andrews' Shaker Furniture by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy concludes the volume. Merton once observed, "The peculiar grace of a Shaker chair is due to the fact that it was made by someone capable of believing that an angel might come and sit on it." To read these letters is to experience a meeting of angels, coming to rest for a moment in the contemplation of the simple, but to this day challenging, gifts of the Shakers.

In A Meeting of Angels Dr. Paul Pearson has made available both sides of the correspondence between Merton and a reknowned authority on the Shakers. Dr. Pearson's brief and very helpful introduction and his judicious use of footnotes display the careful scholarship we are accustomed to expect from him. --William H. Shannon, Founding President of the International Thomas Merton Society

In this fascinating exchange of letters the reader is given an example of Merton's empathy with his correspondents and his great respect for the Shaker tradition which had so many similarities with the best of the Cistercian spirit. How much more is seen when both sides of the correspondence are made available. --Brother Patrick Hart, OCSO

About this title

About the Author:

Paul M. Pearson is Director and Archivist of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, and Chief of Research for the Merton Legacy Trust. He is Resident Secretary of the International Thomas Merton Society, served as its tenth President and was a founding member of the Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland. He is editor of Thomas Merton: Poet, Monk, Prophet (Three Peaks Press, 1998), Thomas Merton: A Mind Awake in the Dark (Three Peaks Press, 2002), Seeds of Hope: Thomas Merton's Contemplative Message (Cistercium-Ciem, 2008) and edited Seeking Paradise: Thomas Merton and the Shakers (Orbis, 2003).

Review:

The publication ... emphasises particularly, for us, Merton's great capacity for friendship, his compassion and enthusiasm to share his boundless knowledge....We are indebted to Dr. Paul Pearson for this delightful book which brings Merton, as his friends knew him, so much closer to us. --Thea van Dam, The Merton Journal, Eastertide, 2009; Vol. 16, No.1

Over the sink in the kitchen of Thomas Merton s hermitage is a Shaker spirit drawing, 'The Tree of Life,' that hangs like a memory of Merton's fascination with that peculiar people called the Shakers. It was the gift of Edward Deming Andrews, the token of a friendship celebrated in this collection.... A Meeting of Angels is another beautiful volume by Paul Pearson who has carefully presented...a precious distillation of Merton s illuminating insights into the fascinating heritage of the American Shakers....[With] Dr. Pearson, I salute the friendship between these two exceptional souls which he describes as 'a rare meeting of spirits...the celebration of a meeting of angels....' --Kathleen Deignan, CND, The Merton Seasonal, Vol. 34, No. 2, Summer 2009

These letters reveal a true meeting of minds. It is a delight to read the private correspondence of two such learned and gentlemanly souls. Merton is thoughtful and eloquent; Andrews is generous and kind. Both are intellectual. This is a lovely book, inside and out. Paul M. Pearson, who edited this volume and also provides the introduction, is a fine scholar. --Frederick Smock, Lousville Courier Journal, November 29, 2008

About this edition

• Publisher: Broadstone Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0972114491
• ISBN 13: 9780972114493
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128
• Illustrator: Thomas Merton