Dear Sandy;
Thank you. I. too, have great admiration for Merton, although I
have not read him as thoroughly as you have. My quip about "whoring" was
only a tongue-in-cheek reference to Niles' assessment of Joan Baez.
All the Best,
Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandy Hackney" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "gary digman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "lutelist" <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2005 3:34 AM
Subject: Re: [LUTE] Re: Speaking of John Jacob Niles
> Actually Merton was a saint. He lived a very intensely focused life on
> being holy for decades. As his Journal editors entitled one of the last
> volumes, "He Turned to the World" and that included falling in love with a
> nurse. To correct an earlier perception, he did NOT whore into the night
> with Joan Baex. In fact they drank, talked and listened to music with
some
> others.
> If you read his 7 volumes of his Journals (I have read them 5+ times and
> continue to read them), you will see a very good man struggling with
> natural desires and doubts. He lived up beyond his publicity.
> Not much about the lute here...
> Sandy
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "gary digman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: "lutelist" <[email protected]>
> Sent: Monday, November 14, 2005 5:14 AM
> Subject: [LUTE] Re: Speaking of John Jacob Niles
>
>
> > 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
>
>
>
>
> --
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>
>
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