Raids on the UnspeakableHere this concern finds expression in poetic irony and in meditations intentionally dour. In these brief, challenging pieces, Father Merton does not offer consolation or easy remedies. He looks candidly and without illusions at the world of his time. Though he sees dark horizons, his ultimate answer is one of Christian hope. To vary the perspective, he writes in many forms, using parable and myth, the essay and the meditation, satire and manifesto, prose poetry and even adaptations from a medieval Arab mystic (Ibn Abbad) to humanize and dramatic his philosophical themes. The themes of Raids on the Unspeakable are as old as the myths of Prometheus and Atlas, and as timely as the human evils of today. They range from the "Message" written for an international congress of poets to the beautiful yet disturbing Christmas meditation, "The Time of the End Is the Time of No Room." And there are essays inspired by the world of three significant contemporary writers: Flannery O'Connor, the French novelist Julien Green, and the playwright Eugène Ionesco. A number of Father Merton's own drawings are also included in the book—not as "illustrations," but as "signatures" or :"abstract writings," which stand in their own right as another personal statement. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - josephquinton - LibraryThingA GATHERING OF MERTON'S PROSE, WITH AN OCCASIONAL POEM. WE FORGET HE WAS AN ACOMPLISHED POET, HIS PROSE REFLECTS THIS. THIS BOOK IS ILLUSTRATED WITH SOME OF HIS DRAWINGS (WASHES). THE FIRST PIECE IS ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - JBreedlove - LibraryThingParts were insightful but most of the book was unrelated to anything I can identify with. Along with capitalized Religious words was an invented mythology and a contrived convention that was a waste of words. Surely not on of Merton's best. Or am I just beyond or deaf mythology now? Read full review
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Raids on the Unspeakable Volume 213 of New Directions paperbook |
| Author | Thomas Merton |
| Contributor | New Directions Publishing Corp |
| Publisher | New Directions Publishing, 1966 |
| ISBN | 0811201015, 9780811201018 |
| Length | 182 pages |
| Subjects | › › Literary Collections / Essays Religion / Christian Living / Inspirational |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |