Mystics and Zen Masters

In lovely shape: tight, square spine; clean, unmarked interior; no notable shelf-wear. Despite the copyright page's affirmation of nihil obstat and imprimatur (the Catholic Church's 'official declaration that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error'), this Merton collection is, for the time of its original publishing (1963), surprisingly ecumenical, sympathetically treating a wide range of mystical experiences as it draws parallels between Julian of Norwich, St. John of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, and Jakob Böhme with followers of Buddhism and classical Chinese thought, while also championing existentialism through a Christian lens. Cover designer Jacqueline Schuman, who here employs a lovely Albers-esque pattern of nesting rectangles, is also noted for her wallpaper-inspired covers for E. P. Dutton's Barbara Pym series and the Deco-influenced Colette works published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux's Noonday imprint. 303 pp. Eastern Spirituality.