by Joyce Rothermel

Thomas Merton was a skilled writer, devoted monk, and a talented photographer. The Pittsburgh region hasanopportunitytoseesomeofhis work at Duquesne University’s Gumberg Library from September 16 through November 8, 2019. Titled, “A Hidden Wholeness: The Zen Photography of Thomas Merton”, the photo exhibit is free and open to the public.

During the time of the exhibition, two public talks are scheduled at the Library. The first is on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 6 PM. “Beholding Paradise: Merton’s Encounter with Photography and Zen” will be presented by Dr. Paul Pearson, Director of the Thomas Merton Center of Bellarmine University. The second is entitled “Seeing Which Is Being Which Is Acting” and will be offered by Bruce Soun Harris Roshi, a Zen teacher and artist on Thursday, November 7, also at 6 PM.

This exhibition and the public talks are made possible by generous grants from an anonymous donor, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Duquesne’s McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts.

For more information, contact Will W. Adams, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Duquesne University, adamsw@duq.edu

“Merton’s goal for the photographs was one of spiritual and intellectual transcendence, but they function on an aesthetic level so pure as to be visually transcendent as well. That’s almost too much to expect from photographs and an achievement not often seen these days,” wrote Evan Gillespie of the South Bend Tribune.

You won’t want to miss these opportunities!

Joyce Rothermel is a Thomas Merton enthusiast and writes for The New People

Originally published VOL 49 No. 7, September 2019