Sidney Lanier Books

As an Eastern Catholic who is in the midst of discerning a call to the monastic life (a very serious call), I thought that reading the written account of Merton's own journey might be helpful. I was not disappointed. More than that, I think that all sophomores in high school should be made to read it, with a mandatory repeat in their senior year.

Why?

Because Merton so eloquently describes his involvement for the first 30 years of his life in what the Bible speaks of as "the vanity of this world." He carefully takes the reader through the journey of an ordinary childhood, his college years, and the inner sense of dissatisfaction he felt with all the things that the world calls "important". This gnawing sense within his soul led to his eventual conversion to the Catholic Faith. His expressions of joy at his conversion are lovely to read, and, for me, reflect my similar experience in entering our Lord's Church 7 years ago.

I think therefore it would be good for young people to read this book on the threshold of their adulthood so that they could see that there is more indeed to life than the pursuit of wealth and fame. They would also read the read conversion of a soul from discontent to peace, from questioning to assurance, from boredom to joy. I think too many people associate the conscrated life with austerity and joylessness. One simply does not get that feeling from Merton's conversion to the Church, and then to the Trappist monastery. If one is truly called to the consecrated life, there is joy in responding to that call, and Merton makes this clear as he writes.

Fr. Merton has a wonderful style of writing and, except for a few parts which got a little tedious for me to plow through, I found the book flows well and is easily readable. Merton has sections where he describes in clear detail his thoughts regarding the vanity of the passing world and his attraction to that which is eternal and timeless --the spiritual world. As we know from his later writings, there was a special call on his life which kept him from finding peace and rest within until he responded to it.

This is a well written and easy to read story of one man's early life and spiritual journey. Once you pick it up, you will find it hard to put down until you finish it.

Having been a fan of Thomas Merton for years, I purchased 2 copies for 2 friends who were on a conversion journey themselves. Both declared that they were unable to put the book down and found it inspiring.
Almost all of us struggle with the pull of material things, physical things, and spiritual things. Merton talks frankly about his struggles and his failures as well as his eventual feelings of the rightness of his decision to choose the spiritual life.

I just bought a copy of this book. It is so beautiful I finished reading
it word for word from cover to cover in 2 days. I am hooked on Thomas Merton! Looking forward to more of his works.

The Seven Storey Mountain is a true classic written by a humble genius. It is extremely well written and laid out. Thomas Merton being a highly intelligent man wrote it is a highly intelligent manner, and you can not help but sink into his wonderful narrative style and logical manner. It was written over half a century though and I at times had to reread sections because his writing style and use of words was not very familiar to me, and I wanted to insure I was understanding what he was saying.

What really sets the Seven Storey Mountain apart is it gets better after reading it. It is often times in the years after my first read where idea and seeds that were planted when I first read the novel make themselves known. Thomas' search and discovery for religion and purpose will appeal to a wide audience, not just the uber religious. It is a wonderful novel of self discovery and change.

Few writers of spiritual books ever reach the high literary mark that Thomas Merton sets in The Seven Storey Mountain. At its core, The Seven Storey Mountain is pure memoir. Merton accounts for his life up to the time of writing when he was about 30 years old. Within this account, he places insights on spirituality, and the account on the whole offers a grand lesson on God's providence and mankind's undying need for reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ.

Merton's life story unfolds with tragedy upon tragedy. His mother died from cancer when he was 5 years old, and then less than 12 years later his father died from cancer. Merton was left with a guardian and grandparents who cared for him from arm's length.

Merton's education is vast. He is as well read and learned as any writer of memoir that I have read. Unfortunately, as a teenager his education led him away from God and to an attitude of atheism or agnosticism at times. As he pursues greater education, God pursues him through authors and teachers.

Merton credits William Blake's writings and art with playing a significant role in his salvation. Merton then begins reading a book on Catholic Philosophy that also has a profound impact on his perception of God and the religion. Mostly, Merton credits the intercession of others for his salvation, "Who prayed for me? One day I shall know. But in the economy of God's love, it is through the prayers of other men that these graces are given. It was through the prayers of someone who loved God that I was one day, to be delivered out of that hell where I was already confined without knowing it." (109) Merton takes no credit for his salvation or spiritual growth. He gives all credit to the gracious work of God.

His book illustrates the journey of a young man from enlightened atheism to humble faith in God. Merton's faith and learning are complimentary not contradictory. He shows readers that true enlightenment and learning leads to the ultimate truth, and this truth gives hope not fear, assurance not doubt, and salvation not annihilation.

Merton writes to his readers of this truth he has learned that I think is the message of his book, "And yet now I tell you, you who are now what I once was, unbelievers, it is that Sacrament, and that alone, the Christ living in our midst, and sacrificed by us, and for us and with us, in the clean and perpetual Sacrifice, it is He alone Who holds our world together, and keeps us all from being poured headlong and immediately into the pit of our eternal destruction. And I tell you there is a power that goes forth from that Sacrament, a power of light and truth into the hearts of those who have heard nothing of Him and seem to be incapable of belief." (41)

As expressed in the above quote, Merton's faith is rooted in the Catholic religion. This causes some trouble to me as he exalts Mary the mother of Jesus to a place alongside her son as a mediator and advocate for people. Merton asserts Mary is as responsible for his coming to God as Jesus. At times of trouble, he prays to Mary and a litany of saints for help. He discusses praying for souls in purgatory and wiping out sins through almsgiving. In addition to few slights at Protestant religions, these items may be stumbling blocks to some readers.

Merton reveals a spiritual journey that takes him eventually to his desired home in a Trappist monastery where he, at his Director's urging, continues to write and publish while seeking God in solitude. His is a process engineered by the hand of Providence, as it led his steps and transformed his heart. I think any sincere reader who approaches Merton with an open mind and heart will find insights applicable to him or her at the current time of life.

Sidney Lanier was perhaps the greatest poet produced by the South during the the 19th Century. His descriptions of the nature and the Georgian Marshes of Glen, as in "the slant yellow beam of the sun doth seem like a lane from Heaven that leads to a dream..." and "belief overmasters doubt and I know that I know..." are words that feed the soul with the timeless nector of wisdom and humanity. I treasure this book and any student of the American South and/or of American Poetry will find Mr. Lanier's style of alliteration and assonance, together with his wonderful imagery to be a feast for the soul in solitude.

This is an invaluable reprint of the 1916 edition of Mary Lanier's 1884 collection, which is only marred by a certain over-solicitousness for the poet's fame that depreciates the early poems and the jolly, Twainy "dialect" poems, whice rise to Frost in "Thar's more in the Man than thar is in the Land."

Sidney Lanier saw the Real through "Christ's crystal" clear as the great fourth stanza of "Song of the Chattahoochee":

And oft in the hills of Habersham,
And oft in the valleys of Hall,
The white quartz shone, and the smooth brook-stone
Did bar me of passage with friendly brawl,
And many a luminous jewel lone
---Crystals clear or a-cloud with mist,
Ruby, garnet and amethyst---
Made lures with the lights of streaming stone
In the clefts of the hills of Habersham,
In the beds of the valleys of Hall.

"A Florida Sunday" is an evocation pure as any of Florida, and there is homesickness in "From the Flats":

Oh might I through these tears
But glimpse some hill my Georgia high uprears,
Where white the quartz and pink the pebble shine,
The hickory heavenward strives, the muscadine
Swings o'er the slope, the oak's far-falling shade
Darkens the dogwood in the bottom glade,
And down the hollow from a ferny nook
Bright leaps a living brook!

The famous "Hymns of the Marshes" are what Georgia is like, so that when in "Ireland" he offers against the famine "the main and cordial current of our love," he prophesies Finnegans Wake.

Hart Crane's noble tribute to "Psalm of the West", Pound's rare salute to "A Ballad of Trees and the Master", bespeak a poet loudly ignored.

His great Cantata for the Centennial would serve as well in 1976.

In his Afterword, John Hollander points to "the opening line of 'The Marshes of Glynn,' when separated from the weaker, rhyming second one: 'Glooms of the live-oaks, beautiful-braided and woven'; here again we feel that the music of Lanier's verse lies closer to the ebb and flow of Whitman's than to the brilliant contraptions of Swinburne's." That second line is, "With intricate shades of the vines that myriad-cloven"---go on to the third, "Clamber the forks of the multiform boughs," and you have Lanier.

Fun kids version of the knightly version of Arthur.


Green here puts together some of the major components of the Arthurian legend in its knights, armour and wizards version to make it accessible to younger readers, and does rather a good job it.

Lots of good stuff here for the younger crowd.

Dozens of tales comprise the legend of King A. This author compiles about 23 and fashions them into a cohesive story, showing the rise of King A., the age of the glory of his realm, the quest for the Holy Grail, and the realm's fall. Most of the tales are episodic; they can stand on their own, as well as a functioning part of the legend. Everyone's favorite knights are here: Launcelot, Galahad, Gareth, Tristam, Percivale, evil Sir Mordred, and dumb Sir Kay. Also, the ladies: Queen Guin, Morgana le Fay, Enid, and Blanchefleur. My favorite Knight is Sir Gawain, and favorite tale is that of him and his Lady Ragnell. Well laid out, an easy read, and a good introduction to the courtly age.

This book is full of adventures of the many Knights of the Round Table. The stories are in full detail of their quests to serve King Arthur and the people of Logres. It describes their victories as well as their defeats.
A moral the story teaches is that if we blind ourselves with what is wrong and sinful, we will not get to be our full potential. We learn this by watching how Sir Launcelot lives his life. He was the greatest Knight in the world and was admired by every damsel in the land. Sir Launcelot was supposed to be the Knight to recover the Holy Grail and he never does this, because he allows himself to be involved in a sinful relationship with Queen Guinevere, King Arthur's Queen.
My favorite Knight was Sir Galahad, who was Sir Launcelot's son. Sir Galahad alone was the only one worthy to drink from the Holy Grail.
The book has a great story and I recommend it to anyone who loves medieval tales.

I had to overcome having read one too many retellings of these tales in reading this book.
I think the major flaw is taking the late middle ages Christian approach.
On the plus side the author pretty much sticks to the classic story lines and even puts in the Tristam legend
(his undoing here as the Cornwall Kingdom is where Arthur's mother conceived him, not a a place out of time ).
He changes Vivian to Nimue and calls magic the deceptions of Merlin and Morgan le Fay making everything as the Christians of later times would have it.

I have read many versions of the Arthurian legends, and revisited them again in three different books recently. Of those, this version was the best. It was compiled from several different sources, and manages to flesh out some of the legends of the lesser knights and Merlin the Enchanter more than many versions.

Despite being a Puffin Classics edition, it does not condescend to the reader, nor read as a diluted telling, as is so often the case in educational publishing. If you are looking for a clean, coherent telling of the Arthurian tales that won't require wading through archaic language, this is the version for you.

The paperback pricing is nice too.

I think this book is very good in how it explanes the adventures king Aurthur has. I would only recomend this book to someone that likes midevil times.

Arthurian Supremacy
This book is broken down into seven smaller books. The titles are as follows, "King Arthur", " Sir Lancelot Du Lake", "Garneth of Orokearly", "Sir Tristram", Galahd Sir Percival and the quest for the holy Grail", "The Fair maid of Astolate" And "The death of Arthur". This novel contains all of the classic stories about Arthur and his knights. From the birth of Arthur to the fall of his kingdom, this book has it all. Sadly there are basically no changes to the story line at all which can be disappointing. I Personally do not recommend this book for new readers or people who like to fast read given that the old English context makes it confusing and hard to read The old context is kind of a two edged sword it is both confusing and interesting. This novel was written by N. V. Kilen

King Arthur's Noble knights
Sidney Lanier's re-telling of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table may appear confusing. However this story has the same original plot and theme of King Arthur weaved into the story. This book contains stories on the coming and passing of Arthur in the 6th century, King Arthur's most noble knights, and the quest for the Holly Grail.
Sidney Lanier's version tells more details then other novels of King Arthur. For instance, Lanier always describes what knights do when they traveling to a destination. He tells where the knights stop and sleep for the nights and what they eat the next morning.
Lastly, in my opinion this book should be read by adults who understand the meaning of words such as wrought, meseemeth, and wot. I did not enjoy reading this novel because of the complexity of the language.

This is a most gorgeous book, well produced on beautiful paper, with wonderful reproductions of the original NC Wyeth pictures. A collectable to treasure!

N.C. Wyeth illustrated the book of "The Boy's King Arthur"in 1917. The Boy's King Arthur, is avout the top main knights such as, Lancelot, and how they become a knight. This story exists as part of the original King Arthur stories, but it becomes shorter than the original. Also in The Boys King Arthur, you will encounter how knights acted back in the fourth century.
The author of this story uses more details, and more unique, and unusual things than the original story. The battle with Mordred and Arthur at the end, I considered that to be an extremely unique fight, because Mordred becomes a traitor to his own father, Arthur. Unusually, N.C. Wyeth adds old English in the ways of back then in the story. The Narrator of The Boys King Arthur remains just an outsider of the story. The main setting of the novel places in England, and the themes of the novel, exists as just how peasents and people become the top Knights of the Round Table. (Lancelot, Tristram, Galahad, Percival, and the fair maid of Astolat) Also the story illustrates how King Arthur becomes King of England, And his death.
I recommend that people should read this book only if they're thirteen and up. Also I recommend that you should read The Boys King Arthur only if you read the original version of King Arthur. I say this because the book remains in old English, and might be quite hard to understand. I thought this book is quite hard to understand of the old English, and the length of the book with the old English.

White, Donna. A Century of Welsh Myth in Children's Literature. Jefferson, N.C.: Greenwood, 1998. hardcover. pp. 162 ISBN: 0-313-30570-6.

In her book A Century of Welsh Myth in Children's Literature, Donna White contends, "Some of the best children's fantasy available is based on Welsh traditional literature" (142). Given the authors she chooses to examine, her argument is persuasive. Newbery Medal winners Lloyd Alexander and Susan Cooper, Guardian Award and Carnegie Medal recipient Alan Garner, and Tir na n-Og Award recipients Susan Cooper, Frances Thomas, and Jenny Nimmo all received recognition for their fiction based on Welsh legends.

"Although I am not the first person to have examined the influence of Welsh traditional literature on modern fantasy, I am the first to look at the material historically and chronologically as children's literature," says White. Her approach can be used as a companion piece to the best-known work on the subject, C. W. Sullivan's Welsh Celtic Myth in Modern Fantasy (1989) as well as to Kath Filmer-Davies's Fantasy Fiction and Welsh Myth: Tales of Belonging (1996). The studies by Sullivan, Filmer-Davies, and White overlap in coverage, but White's study of the techniques by which authors integrate the myths into audience-specific writings differs from Sullivan's research into the thematic influences on fantasy and Filmer-Davies's critique of themes within fantasy. White's approach is unique in both the scope of works covered and her focus on literature for children and young adults.

Noting the obstacles to incorporating myths originally intended for an adult audience into children's literature, White traces the evolution of the original Welsh tales, first into translations and re-tellings intended for a younger audience (1881 - 1988) and then into fiction drawing upon different elements of the original lore (1830 - 1990). She synopsizes each of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi in her Introduction, enabling the reader to derive meaning from references throughout the text without scurrying off to find the nearest translation of the myths. This section also introduces the seminal work by Lady Charlotte Guest. An Englishwoman who taught herself medieval Welsh, Lady Guest published the first complete English translation of the myths in a seven-volume set (1838 - 1845). Along with the Four Branches, Lady Guest included stories from the Red Book of Hergest and the Book of Taliesin. These tales together comprise The Mabinogion, while the Four Branches alone are known as The Mabinogi. Among the titles White discusses are Welsh author Kenneth Morris's Book of the Three Dragons (1930), the first attempt to fictionalize the Mabinogi in children's literature, Alan Garner's The Owl Service and Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, thoroughly examining the influence of the Mabinogi on these gifted writers and explaining their influence on later authors. A section on "The Mabinogi in Fiction, 1970-1992," discusses works by Susan Cooper, Nancy Bond, Madeleine L'Engle, Frances Thomas, Louise Lawrence, Clare Cooper, Joan Aiken, Grace Chetwin, and Jenny Nimmo. Several pages are devoted to Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising sequence (1966-1977). Close to half of this chapter is dedicated to the works of Jenny Nimmo, including The Snow Spider (1986), Emlyn's Moon (1987) and The Chestnut Soldier (1989).

White's writing has many strengths; particularly interesting is her explanation for the fits and starts by which Welsh myth has proven influential. While many other countries embraced their folklore, Welsh authors never seemed to celebrate the rich wonder inherent in their lore that would lend it so readily to stories for young people. White attributes this to Anglicization in Wales that suppressed the country's culture and language. With the popularity of Garner and Alexander, another hurdle appeared -- few writers dared comparison with these masters of YA fantasy. White's commentary investigates the very different approaches each took in incorporating Welsh myths into their stories.

Beyond her scholarship, what makes White's book so enjoyable are her willingness to challenge earlier scholars and her humorous, conversational style. Although it is not necessarily an integral element to successful criticism, I enjoyed her dry sense of humor. She often provides personal translations for Welsh phrases.

Overall, White is engaging and eminently readable. Due to the chronological nature of the text (and the early thumbnail sketches of the Mabinogi), the chapters may not be as effective when read independently, although readers familiar with the subject will certainly benefit. This excellent study belongs in public and college libraries and is recommended to scholars of both Welsh lore and children's literature.