Dust jacket notes: "Thomas Merton - theologian, philosopher, social critic, and humanist - was an extraordinary man with an extraordinary vision. A prolific writer, Merton communicated his remarkable insights through poetry, essays, journals, and books. Merton was also a skilled and gifted photographer. Although his serious involvement with photography began late in his life and spanned only a few years, Merton's photographs express great sensitivity and precision. Geography of Holiness presents a selection of one hundered of Merton's photographs taken in such disparate locales as New Mexico, Alaska, India, Thailand, and Kentucky. In his photography, as in his writings, Merton conveys a profound understanding of being. The subjects of his photographs are as diverse as all of life. He captures the smooth, innocent faces of youth, the wise, expressive faces of the aged, the pristine simplicity of an adobe wall, and the peaceful majesty of the sea. Never intrusive or contrived, Merton's photographs evoke the spirit of the people he met and the places he visited. They give us a rare sense of the holiness of all created things. Selections from Merton's writings accompany the photographs to underscore the mood and feeling of the images. A descriptive list of plates and a chronology of Merton's life are included."
Thomas Merton wrote more than 70 books, mostly on spirituality, as well as scores of essays and reviews. Merton was a keen proponent of interfaith understanding.
Interest in his work contributed to a rise in spiritual exploration beginning in the 1960s and 1970s in the US. Merton's letters and diaries, reveal the intensity with which their author focused on social justice issues, including the civil rights movement and proliferation of nuclear arms. He had prohibited their publication for 25 years after his death. Publication raised new interest in Merton's life.
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