Thomas Merton and Latin America

"Poks inquires into Merton''s interest in poets from the Southern hemisphere, his translations of their poetry, and his personal contacts with Latin American intellectuals. She does so in such a way that we are able to see how this interest is an essential aspect of Merton''s ongoing inquiry into humanity''s struggle to live authentically in the technological age... Poks opens for us a conversation of great significance." /David Belcastro/ ¿Poks'' volume makes a major contribution to elucidating Merton''s enthusiastic response to the wisdom of Latin America as articulated by these poets, and to situating this response in relationship to other aspects of his maturing vision in the final decade of his life ... It is a matter of some wonder, and a cause for much gratitude, that a young Central European scholar has explored in such breath and depth these spiritual and cultural bonds uniting the Western hemisphere in the spirit and the writing of one monk-poet.¿/Patrick F. O''Connell/