For Release: March 19 , 2007
Louisville independent filmmaker Morgan Atkinson examines the lifelong spiritual journey of Gethsemani monk Thomas Merton in his new documentary Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton . The program airs Tuesday, April 3 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET1 and Sunday, April 8 at 9/8 p.m. CT on KET2.
Merton, known in the monastery as F ather Louis, was born in 1915 in southern France. Merton joine d the Catholic Church in 1938 in the wake of a rather dramatic conversion experience. After his education at Columbia University and St. Bonaventure's College, Merton entered the monastic community of the Abbey of Gethsemani at Trappist, Ky . , in December 1941. He was received by Abbot Frederic Dunne , who encouraged the young F ather Louis to write his autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain , which became a best-seller.
During the next 20 years, Merton wrote on a vast range of topics, including the contemplative life, prayer and religious biographies. His writings would later take up controversial issues, including Christian responsibility in race relations, violence, nuclear war and economic injus tice.
Soul Searching is based on years of research of Merton's work and interview s with Merton 's friends, scholars and authorities on spiritual life . The program reveal s life at the Abbey of Gethsemani, Merton's home of 27 years, as well as Merton's experiences in New York , at the Redwoods Monastery in California and the Christ in the Desert Monastery in New Mexico .
This film is supported by the KET Fund for Independent Production (KFIP). KFIP has been awarding grants to Kentucky-based film and video makers since 1990. More information about KFIP can be found at www.ket.org/kentucky/fund.htm.
Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton is a production of Duckworks Inc. More information about KET programming and education services, as well as how to support KET, can be found at www.ket.org.