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The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton / Mott, Michael ; Merton T ; Williams J ; Lax R., 1984

 Item
Identifier: CC-54440-989934

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Scope and Contents

This is the first edkition, first printing of the book. Page 202 mentions Merton's periodical "Monk's Pond" and his concrete poetry on page 502. The Sackner Archive also holds two original typewriter poems by Mott.Wikipedia: Michael Mott was born in London. His father was a solicitor and his mother was a sculptor from Denver, Colorado. Mott was educated in America and England. After his service in the British Army, he attended Oriel College of Oxford University, then art school and a year traveling in Europe and the Middle East. Mott then began his literary career taking a job in 1956 as the editor of trade journal, Air Freight. In 1957, his first collection of poetry, The Cost of Living, was published. On May 6 1961, Mott married Margaret Watt, a fashion designer, at St. John's Wood Church, London. In 1962, as the couple welcomed twin daughters, Mott's first novel The Notebooks of Susan Berry was published. Reviewer Kenneth Allsop writing for the Daily Mail called the book, "a brilliant first novel." Between 1961 and 1964, Mott worked as a book editor at Thames & Hudson and then as an editor at The Geographical Magazine (1964--1966). During this time, his first juvenile novel, Master Entrick was published in 1964 in the UK. The book was released in 1966 in the U.S. and a full twenty years later in 1986, a second edition was released as a Dell Yearling edition. In 1966, Mott was invited to teach at Kenyon College and to be the poetry editor of The Kenyon Review. While at Kenyon, Mott continued to publish poetry and fiction, publishing Helmet and Wasps and The Blind Cross. During the 1970s Mott and his family lived in Atlanta, Georgia. Mott taught at Emory University as Writer in Residence. Both Michael and Margaret, a costume designer with The Alliance Children's Theater and weaver,were active in Atlanta's budding arts scene. In 1972, he cofounded the Callanwolde Readings Program, which highlights poets and writers, with poet Turner Cassity. In 1974, Mott received the Governors Award in Fine Arts from then Governor Jimmy Carter. In 1978, Michael Mott was commissioned to write the authorized biography of Thomas Merton. The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton was published in 1984. The biography remained on the non-fiction The New York Times best-seller list for nine weeks. The book has had nine printings with 60,000 copies sold to date. Winner of a number of awards, the biography was the runner up for the Pulitzer Prize in biography in 1985.Mott was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1979. In 1978-1979, and again in 1985-1986 Mott was Writer-in-Residence at the College of William and Mary. He holds a Christopher Award and other awards, and has an honorary doctorate from St. Mary's College, Notre Dame. Mott's wife Margaret died of cancer in 1990. In 1992, Mott married Emma Lou Powers, he retired, Professor Emeritus, after eleven years teaching at Bowling Green State University. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates

  • Creation: 1984

Creator

Extent

0 See container summary (1 hard cover book (690 pages) in dust jacket) ; 24 x 16.2 x 4.5 cm

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Physical Location

box shelf

Custodial History

The Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, on loan from Ruth and Marvin A. Sackner and the Sackner Family Partnership.

General

Published: New York : Houghton Mifflin Co.. Signed by: Michael Mott March 1, 1986 (b.c.- title page). Inscription: For Gregory Norbert in celebration of Thomas Merton: may you find much light and love on your journey -- Michael. Nationality of creator: British-American. General: Added by: MARVIN; updated by: MARVIN.

Repository Details

Part of the The Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry Repository

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