Thomas Merton and the Beats of the North Cascades

Thomas Merton was a pioneer in recovering the classical western contemplative path. The Beats of the North Cascades (Rexroth, Snyder, Whalen, Kerouac) pointed the way to the contemplative trail, also. There has been little discussion on the relationship between Merton and the Beats of the North Cascades. The correspondence and interaction between these men is legendary and thick with insight and wisdom. Thomas Merton and the Beats of the North Cascades highlights how and why these lookout prophets and sages attempted to reverse centuries of addiction to the vita activa and American manifest destiny and replace such a way of being and doing with the vita contemplativa. The mythic meaning of peaks and mountains, lookouts and valley loomed large in the life and writings of Merton and the North Cascade poets. This missive examines and probes how and why such rock spires and snow capped peaks spoke to the depths of these writers, and how such vistas and ancient trails can still draw us ever upwards.