A Meeting of Angels: The Correspondence of Thomas Merton with Edward Deming & Faith Andrews - edited by Paul M. Pearson with Photographs by Thomas Merton

Hardcover, 128 pages
Publication Date: October 13, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-9721144-9-3

Winner of 2009 Kentucky History Award
Award of Merit for State & Local History

In November 1960 the noted scholar of Shaker life and art Edward Deming wrote to Thomas Merton offering assistance with a book on the religion of the Shakers that he had heard Merton was planning. Though nothing came of that book, the ensuing correspondence between Merton and Andrews, and after Andrews' death in 1964 with his widow and collaborator Faith, itself became a spirited and spiritual examination and celebration of the lives and legacy of the Shakers.

Here for the first time, Dr. Paul M. Pearson (Director of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University) introduces and brings together both sides of this correspondence, allowing the reader to delight in both the interplay of ideas and inspiration, and the growth of sincere affection, that occurred between Merton and the Andrews through their shared vocation. The correspondence is supplemented by a selection of Merton's photographs of the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Kentucky, newly identified with captions supplied by Pleasant Hill Curator Larrie S. Curry. A review of the Andrews' Shaker Furniture by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy concludes the volume.

Merton once observed, "The peculiar grace of a Shaker chair is due to the fact that it was made by someone capable of believing that an angel might come and sit on it." To read these letters is to experience a meeting of of the simple, but to this day challenging, gifts of the Shakers.

This little volume of letters illustrates a well-known saying that may fittingly be applied to Thomas Merton: nothing human was foreign to him. He was fascinated by the Shaker movement which he saw as a unique phenomenon in American culture. His correspondence with Edward Deming Andrews and his wife Faith makes clear his deep admiration for the marvelous craftsmanship found especially in the Shaker furniture. The story of these unusual people, the spiritual purity of their lives and the marvelous simplicity of their work display gifts that Merton sees as akin to elements of the life and spirituality of his own Cistercian monks. In A Meeting of Angels, Dr. Paul Pearson has made available both sides of the correspondence between Merton and a renowned authority on the Shakers. Dr. Pearson's brief and very helpful introduction and his judicious use of footnotes display the careful scholarship we are accustomed to expect from him.

William H. Shannon, The International Thomas Merton Society

A Meeting of Angels allows a rare glimpse of the relationship that existed between Thomas Merton and Edward Deming and Faith Andrews. In this fascinating exchange of letters the reader is given an example of Merton’s empathy with his correspondents and his great respect for the Shaker tradition which had so many similarities with the best of the Cistercian spirit. How much more is seen when both sides of the correspondence are made available. We are indebted to Paul Pearson for his editing of this volume with its perceptive introduction. The selection of the Merton photographs of Shakertown enhances the value of this small but beautifully produced book.

Brother Patrick Hart, General Editor, The Journals of Thomas Merton

These letters reveal a true meeting of minds. It is a delight to read the private correspondence of two such learned and gentlemanly souls. Merton is thoughtful and eloquent; Andrews is generous and kind. Both are intellectual. This is a lovely book, inside and out. Paul M. Pearson, who edited this volume and also provides the introduction, is a fine scholar.

Frederick Smock, Louisville Courier Journal, November 29, 2008

The publication ... emphasises particularly, for us, Merton’s great capacity for friendship, his compassion and enthusiasm to share his boundless knowledge.... We are indebted to Dr. Paul Pearson for this delightful book which brings Merton, as his friends knew him, so much closer to us.

Thea van Dam, The Merton Journal, Eastertide, 2009; Vol. 16, No.1

Over the sink in the kitchen of Thomas Merton’s hermitage is a Shaker spirit drawing, 'The Tree of Life,' that hangs like a memory of Merton’s fascination with that peculiar people called the Shakers. It was the gift of Edward Deming Andrews, the token of a friendship celebrated in this collection.... A Meeting of Angels is another beautiful volume by Paul Pearson who has carefully presented...a precious distillation of Merton’s illuminating insights into the fascinating heritage of the American Shakers....[With] Dr. Pearson, I salute the friendship between these two exceptional souls which he describes as 'a rare meeting of spirits…the celebration of a meeting of angels….'

Kathleen Deignan, CND, "A Common Ground of Simplicity,"
The Merton Seasonal, Vol. 34, No. 2, Summer 2009

A good book – a worthy book – leads its adventurous readers on a journey of discovery, only to bring those pilgrims back home to their too familiar world, forever changed. In A Meeting of Angels: The Correspondence of Thomas Merton with Edward Deming & Faith Andrews, editor Paul M. Pearson has given us just such a book.... Reading any such book of real letters shared by real people struggling with passion and purpose provides an experience starkly refreshing….

David Shockey, Kentucky Monthly, May 2009

A Meeting of Angels is a refreshing and welcome addition to the posthumous publications of Merton's correspondence. Just as Merton recognized the Cistercian spirit alive in Shaker life and buildings, so did Andrews recognize the Shaker spirit in his monk friend's way of life. That both writers were able to articulate clearly the ideals they shared is reason enough for the editor's diligent work and for the lasting worth of the book. It should easily stand the test of time and hold the interest of all who read it, whether for scholarly work or for lectio divina.

Sister Jeanne Doriot, SP, Cistercian Studies Quarterly Vol. 46.2, 2011

Paul M. Pearson is Director and Archivist of the Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University in International Thomas Merton Society (ITMS), served as its tenth President and was a founding member of the Thomas Merton Society of Great Britain and Ireland. He is an editor of Thomas Merton: Poet, Monk, Prophet (Three Peaks Press, 1998), Thomas Merton: A Mind Awake in the Dark (Three Peaks Press, 2002), Seeds of Hope: Thomas Merton's Contemplative Message (Cistercium-Ciem, 2008) and edited Seeking Paradise: Thomas Merton and the Shakers (Orbis, 2003).