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The Monk's Record Player: Thomas Merton, Bob Dylan, and the Perilous Summer of 1966 by Robert Hudson
richardwells's review against another edition
2.0
Thomas Merton's fanboy attraction to Bob Dylan's seminal albums is a slender thread to hang another biography of Merton on, but hang it does, and though it illuminates Dylan's influence on Merton the influence was the urge to share and imitate. Well, any writer who likes Dylan has felt those urges.
The Monk's Record Player is a functional, and well-written precis of Thomas Merton's early life, his struggles as a hermit monk in the world, his unconsummated love affair with a young nurse, and his encounters with various luminaries of the time, including Jacques Maritain, Joan Baez, Robert Laughlin, Thich Nat Than - the list goes on, but doesn't include Dylan himself. It's a less detailed history of Dylan's early career, but useful if you know nothing about the man.
No doubt, and it is documented, Merton thought very highly of Dylan's output. He hoped Dylan might put at least one of his own poems to music but couldn't get through the labyrinthine operation protecting Dylan's time. Merton wrote Cables to the Ace under Dylan's influence (especially, it seems, of his liner notes,) but later came to think of it as purposely obscure - though it remains one of his most popular books. (I've always thought Merton's poetry obscure at best, and though I own his collected poetry ((a tome if there ever was one)) I'm not able to appreciate much of it. I also own most of Dylan's output, and, well, fan/fanatic - you know?) Merton eventually collaborated with John Jacob Niles, though he was ultimately disappointed by their art song qualities, and thought of them as hymns that would never be sung.
I hate to fault author Robert Hudson, but I was lured in by the idea of a much deeper connection between the two poets, and when he chose to suppose Merton's reactions to Dylan's work that came out after the monk's untimely death, he lost a lot of credibility. Telling us what Merton would have probably thought is an unwise biographical move.
The record player was a hard won addition to Merton's hermitage - even before running water - without which Bob Dylan might have been missed.
The Monk's Record Player is a functional, and well-written precis of Thomas Merton's early life, his struggles as a hermit monk in the world, his unconsummated love affair with a young nurse, and his encounters with various luminaries of the time, including Jacques Maritain, Joan Baez, Robert Laughlin, Thich Nat Than - the list goes on, but doesn't include Dylan himself. It's a less detailed history of Dylan's early career, but useful if you know nothing about the man.
No doubt, and it is documented, Merton thought very highly of Dylan's output. He hoped Dylan might put at least one of his own poems to music but couldn't get through the labyrinthine operation protecting Dylan's time. Merton wrote Cables to the Ace under Dylan's influence (especially, it seems, of his liner notes,) but later came to think of it as purposely obscure - though it remains one of his most popular books. (I've always thought Merton's poetry obscure at best, and though I own his collected poetry ((a tome if there ever was one)) I'm not able to appreciate much of it. I also own most of Dylan's output, and, well, fan/fanatic - you know?) Merton eventually collaborated with John Jacob Niles, though he was ultimately disappointed by their art song qualities, and thought of them as hymns that would never be sung.
I hate to fault author Robert Hudson, but I was lured in by the idea of a much deeper connection between the two poets, and when he chose to suppose Merton's reactions to Dylan's work that came out after the monk's untimely death, he lost a lot of credibility. Telling us what Merton would have probably thought is an unwise biographical move.
The record player was a hard won addition to Merton's hermitage - even before running water - without which Bob Dylan might have been missed.
annarella's review against another edition
4.0
Both Bob Dylan and Thomas Merton are very interesting people. Poetry, spirituality and zeitgeist all mixed together. The book is a fascinating travel and really interesting.
I really loved it and it met all my expectations.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
I really loved it and it met all my expectations.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
annarella's review
4.0
Both Bob Dylan and Thomas Merton are very interesting people. Poetry, spirituality and zeitgeist all mixed together. The book is a fascinating travel and really interesting.
I really loved it and it met all my expectations.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
I really loved it and it met all my expectations.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
jdonliturgy's review
5.0
A Fascinating Tandem Biography
This is quite simply a tour de force. Hudson manages to expose the poetic confluence between two very different men who never met, but whose writings are reflective of the restless world of the 60's. This is a deep and loving look at the tormented spiritual journey of Merton's final years, revealed in his writings and relationships, showing how influential were the songs and persona of Dylan, the rebel troubadour. Dylan, however, remains a bit more of an enigma.
This is quite simply a tour de force. Hudson manages to expose the poetic confluence between two very different men who never met, but whose writings are reflective of the restless world of the 60's. This is a deep and loving look at the tormented spiritual journey of Merton's final years, revealed in his writings and relationships, showing how influential were the songs and persona of Dylan, the rebel troubadour. Dylan, however, remains a bit more of an enigma.
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