Thomas Merton―Master of Attention: An Exploration of Prayer

by Robert G. Waldron

When The Seven Story Mountain was first published, Merton was hailed as a new, contemporary spiritual voice and became one of the most popular and successful writers and commentators on modern religion and spirituality. But although Merton wrote over forty books on the importance of reflection and prayer in our inner lives, until now we have known very little about Merton's own 'way of prayer'. The distinguished Merton scholar Robert Waldron's new book is the first to fully explore the inner life of perhaps the best-known writer on prayer of the twentieth century.

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Robert Waldron holds a B.A. in English, an M.Ed., and an M.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts. He has taught English Literature and Language at Boston Latin School—Boston’s first public school, for 33 years.

Waldron is the recipient of four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities; in 1997 he also received first prize from the Catholic Press Association for the best article on spirituality written for a periodical. In addition to scholarly articles, he has written several books including: Poetry as Prayer: the Hound of Heaven, The Lost Diary of Francis Thompson Poetry as Prayer: Thomas Merton, and A Man of a Certain Tread.

Waldron is intrigued by the life inside abbeys, seminaries, and convents, places where people have given up a worldly life to pursue something greater. His novel, Blue Hope takes place in a Cistercian abbey; in this remote New England setting, John Highet comes face to face with the great poet Ethan Seegard, now a reclusive monk at the abbey.

Reviews

[Joseph Gascho]

Always easier to read about merton than to read him! Lots of good stuff here.

[Ephrem Arcement · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waldron focuses on Merton's contemplative vision in this short book with interesting comparisons to Simone Weil.