When the Trees Say Nothing: Writings on Nature

Millions know Thomas Merton as the author of The Seven Storey Mountain the autobiography that became an international bestseller and a modern spiritual classic. Merton a prolific spiritual writer and social activist inspired a generation from the silence and solitude of a Trappist monastery. Decades after his death he remains a modern spiritual master a source of wisdom on peace racial harmony poverty alienation and the engagement of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. Now Merton is also revealed as a man whose spirituality is rooted in nature an environmentalist ahead of his time. His writings on nature serve as a primer on eco-spirituality. He approaches ecology as a spiritual issue one that exposes the degree of human alienation from the sacredness of the planet. When The Trees Say Nothing gathers for the first time over 300 of Mertons nature writings grouping them thematically into sections on the seasons elements creatures and other topics. Edited by Merton scholar Kathleen Deignan the collection is cohesive and accessible drawing from both Mertons public writings and his recently published private journals. The lyrical writings are enhanced with Deignans own informative Introduction along with a Foreword by Thomas Berry renowned spiritual mentor for the environmental movement. Unique and powerful on its own When the Trees Say Nothing is enhanced with the art of John B. Giuliani known for his stunning iconography. Giulianis drawings harmonize exquisitely with Mertons meditations on nature making When the Trees Say Nothing a spiritual and aesthetic prize.