This has been Week 9 of my writing pilgrimage, and the last in a month-long series about the four paths of the writer, as I explore them in Writing as a Sacred Path. This week, I concluded the series with the path that has the most power for me: the quiet, contemplative monastic path. On this Great Stuff for Writers Friday, I have three books to recommend for anyone who is drawn to the monastic aspects of the writing life.
Flirting With Monasticism by Karen Sloan. Sloan comes from a religious orientation so different from my own, that I was afraid I’d find little in this book that would resonate with me. She grew up in an evangelical megachurch (her term) and is an ordained Presbyterian minister. As a result, I tiptoed into this book hesitantly, ready to make a hasty retreat the minute I felt preached to.
What I found was a pleasant surprise. Sloan has such a gentle voice and writes so spaciously about both her own faith and the Dominican order she became fascinated with that even a lapsed Catholic Unitarian-Universalist quasi-Buddhist such as myself can feel at ease. In short, it’s impossible not to be drawn in by this delicate spiritual memoir, and its quiet glimpse at the monastic life.
The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris. Remarkably, this is another excellent book by a Protestant woman who became drawn to Catholic monasticism. “Ten years ago, when I became a Benedictine oblate, I knew two things,” writes Norris in this radiant memoir. “I didn’t feel ready to do it, but I had to act.” Written from the standpoint of a married woman who makes an oblation (a limited form of monastic vow) to follow the Benedictine Rule, The Cloister Walk, is at once an examination of the power of monasticism, an exploration of what spirituality means in modern life, and the spiritual diary of a liturgical year. It meanders and repeats, but all the better. It’s a book you want to linger over.
Writing and the Spiritual Life: Finding Your Voice by Looking Within by Patrice Vecchione. Although not explicitly about the writer-as-monk, this rich exploration of spirituality and writing is essentially monastic: It focuses on the contemplative, prayerful, and devotional aspects of writing. For Vecchione, the shaping of language is an act of praise, invocation, and thanks. Her book is lovely and sustaining.
A Time to Keep Silence by Patrick Leigh Fermor. I’m going to say one thing about this book: reading it is like being in a monastery. For a more detailed critique, I’ll refer you to this excellent one on National Public Radio.
The next time I post, things will change a bit here at Writing as a Sacred Path. I’ll be in Italy, and for the next month, I’ll be blogging about my travels there.
Flirting With Monasticism by Karen Sloan. Sloan comes from a religious orientation so different from my own, that I was afraid I’d find little in this book that would resonate with me. She grew up in an evangelical megachurch (her term) and is an ordained Presbyterian minister. As a result, I tiptoed into this book hesitantly, ready to make a hasty retreat the minute I felt preached to.
What I found was a pleasant surprise. Sloan has such a gentle voice and writes so spaciously about both her own faith and the Dominican order she became fascinated with that even a lapsed Catholic Unitarian-Universalist quasi-Buddhist such as myself can feel at ease. In short, it’s impossible not to be drawn in by this delicate spiritual memoir, and its quiet glimpse at the monastic life.
The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris. Remarkably, this is another excellent book by a Protestant woman who became drawn to Catholic monasticism. “Ten years ago, when I became a Benedictine oblate, I knew two things,” writes Norris in this radiant memoir. “I didn’t feel ready to do it, but I had to act.” Written from the standpoint of a married woman who makes an oblation (a limited form of monastic vow) to follow the Benedictine Rule, The Cloister Walk, is at once an examination of the power of monasticism, an exploration of what spirituality means in modern life, and the spiritual diary of a liturgical year. It meanders and repeats, but all the better. It’s a book you want to linger over.
Writing and the Spiritual Life: Finding Your Voice by Looking Within by Patrice Vecchione. Although not explicitly about the writer-as-monk, this rich exploration of spirituality and writing is essentially monastic: It focuses on the contemplative, prayerful, and devotional aspects of writing. For Vecchione, the shaping of language is an act of praise, invocation, and thanks. Her book is lovely and sustaining.
A Time to Keep Silence by Patrick Leigh Fermor. I’m going to say one thing about this book: reading it is like being in a monastery. For a more detailed critique, I’ll refer you to this excellent one on National Public Radio.
The next time I post, things will change a bit here at Writing as a Sacred Path. I’ll be in Italy, and for the next month, I’ll be blogging about my travels there.
Good traveling ahead; i loved Cloister Walk; i read the mystical and everything else. I’m a Baha’i; don’t know if I mentioned that – makesme look at everything and see the linking patterns. Have a wonderful trip and gratitude for your posts.
I’m glad the post resonated with you.