TEACHING FOR SFU

FALL 2012

LEONARD COHEN AND THOMAS MERTON:
SOUL-BROTHERS AND TRICKSTER FIGURES

Leonard Cohen (b. 1934), Canadian poet and song-writer, ranks with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon as among the greatest such. Thomas Merton (1915-68), French-born American poet and public intellectual, was the greatest Christian spiritual writer of the 20th century.

Cohen is a Jew with an affinity for Catholicism; Merton was a Catholic who called himself “a Jew under my Catholic skin”; both Merton and Cohen were/are deeply interested in Buddhism.

Both carry what Jung calls the “trickster archetype,” believing that great things can be accomplished through a spirit of mischief. Merton was a life-long spiritual teacher and mentor, and remains such to many through his writings. Cohen in his recent years has become, through his concerts and recordings, also a spiritual teacher and mentor to many. Thomas Merton and Leonard Cohen: soul-brothers and fellow-tricksters.



For further information, contact Derra Truscott at seniors@sfu.ca or 778.782.5212, or check out the Seniors Program website at www.sfu.ca/seniors