Dear Roman;
With tongue firmly planted in cheek: Mother Teresa was an arrogant biatch
with her sisters. John Dowland was such an irrascible s.o.b. no one could
stand to be around him for long. Martin Luther king, Jr. was diddling his
secretaries. And now, Merton. Does no one live up to their own publicity?
It's interesting that keeping the vows one makes as a monk would be
construed as an aberration. I'm not criticizing Merton except to say that I
think the naivete is in making such vows in the first place. Anyway, I've
got to get out of this hair shirt and slip into a bottle of Jack Daniels
before headding down to Boom Boom's Pleasure Palace.
All the Best,
Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roman Turovsky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "lutelist" <[email protected]>; "gary digman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2005 4:29 AM
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Speaking of John Jacob Niles
> His political naivete was astounding (his letters to Milosz attest to
that),
> but it is heartening to know he was not an aberrant.
> RT
>
>
> > So Merton was drinking and "whoring" into the night in his hermitage?
I'm
> > shocked!
> >
> > Gary Digman
> >
>
> >
> >> I was surprised to run across Niles' name in Thomas Merton's
"Journals".
> > They were friends in ' 67 or so and Niles wrote some pieces to Merton's
> > poetry. Merton on Niles: "John Niles is a character and I like him.
> > Carolyn commented on his cockiness, but who cares? He has a good
> > weather-beaten, self-willed face, is a bit of a madman and writes good
> > songs. He said Joan Baez was a whore (about which I put up an argument)
> > and
> > some nut stole his manuscripts. And he can carve messages on doors,
> > besides
> > play the lute and sing a toothy song in a metallic voice".
> >> Merton also liked Baez a lot and would play her music, especially
"Silver
> > Dagger", and drink wine into the night from a mason jar in his hermitage
