Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1948-2024 (Creation)
Extent
64.5 cubit feet with an additional 18 linear feet
Name of creator
Biographical history
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a writer and Trappist monk at Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. His writings include such classics as The Seven Storey Mountain, New Seeds of Contemplation, and Zen and the Birds of Appetite. Merton is the author of more than seventy books that include poetry, personal journals, collections of letters, social criticism, and writings on peace, justice, and ecumenism.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This Sub-Section primarily includes audio recordings on reel-to-reel tapes of speeches and lectures of Thomas Merton. Most speeches were given in his role as novice master while many recordings from 1965 through 1968 were either conferences given to the Gethsemani community, conferences given to other groups (mostly monks and nuns), or recordings made by Merton in his hermitage for personal use. Published recordings in this section are cataloged. The reel-to-reel recordings have been digitally remastered as compact disk and as digital files.