Forgotten Radical Peter Maurin

Peter Maurin

Description

The definitive edition of Catholic Worker cofounder Peter Maurin's Easy Essays, including 74 previously unpublished worksAlthough Peter Maurin is well known among people connected to the Catholic Worker movement, his Catholic Worker co-founder and mentee Dorothy Day largely overshadowed him. Maurin was never the charismatic leader that Day was, and some Workers found his idiosyncrasies challenging. Reticent to write or even speak much about his personal life, Maurin preferred to present his beliefs and ideas in the form of Easy Essays, published in the New York Catholic Worker. Featuring 482 of his essays, as well as 87 previously unpublished ones, this text offers a great contribution to the corpus of twentieth-century Catholic life.At first glance, Maurin's Easy Essays appear overly simplistic and preposterous. But upon further investigation, his essays are much more complex and nuanced. Packed with demanding ideas meant to convey dense information and encourage the listener to ponder different ways to understand and interact with reality, his short poetic phrases became his modus operandi for communicating his vision and became a hallmark of his public theology. Each essay contained anywhere from one to ten or more stanzas and were part of a larger arrangement, often titled. Within the larger arrangements were individual essays, which were also titled and arranged in such a manner as to support the overall thesis. Many individual essays were later repeated in slightly altered forms in new arrangements. Previous arrangements were also repeated that omitted or added an essay.Providing scholarly and contextual information for the modern reader, this annotated collection includes more than 350 footnotes which offer a layer of intelligibility that explains Maurin's use of obscure references to historical people and events that would have been common knowledge for readers during the 1930s. When appropriate, the footnotes explain why Maurin chose to cite a person or event. A scholarly Introduction offers a robust synthesis of contemporary scholarship on Maurin and the Catholic Worker that considers radical Catholicism and questions regarding race, ethnicity, religious difference, and gender, because many of Maurin's essays take up these themes. This book shapes the ways Maurin is read in the present day and the ways leftist Catholicism is understood as part of twentieth-century history.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Local history
• Catholic Church
• History of the Americas

Informations

• Publié par: Fordham University Press
• Date de parution: 04 août 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780823287543
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

The Forgotten Radîcal Peter Maurîn

catholic practice in north america

se r i e s e di t or : John C. Seîtz, Assocîate Proessor, Theology Department, Fordham Unîversîty; Assocîate Dîrector or Lîncoln Center, Curran Center or Amerîcan Catholîc Studîes

Thîs serîes aîms to contrîbute to the growîng field o Catholîc studîes through the publîcatîon o books devoted to the hîstorîcal and cultural study o Catholîc practîce în North Amerîca, rom the colonîal perîod to the present. As the term “practîce” suggests, the serîes sprîngs rom a pressîng need în the study o Amerîcan Catholîcîsm or empîrîcal învestîgatîons and creatîve exploratîons and analyses o the contours o Catholîc experîence. In seekîng to provîde more comprehensîve maps o Catholîc practîce, thîs serîes îs commîtted to publîshîng works rom dîverse Amerîcan locales, încludîng urban, suburban, and rural settîngs; ethnîc, postethnîc, and transnatîonal contexts; prîvate and publîc sîtes; and seats o power as well as the margîns.

se r i e s a d v i s ory b oa r d: Emma Anderson, Ottawa Unîversîty Paul Contîno, Pepperdîne Unîversîty Kathleen Sprows Cummîngs, Unîversîty o Notre Dame James T. Fîsher, Fordham Unîversîty (Emerîtus) Paul Marîanî, Boston College Thomas A. Tweed, Unîversîty o Notre Dame

The Forgotten Radîcal Peter Maurîn e a s y e s s ay s fr o m t he c at h o l i c w o r k er

Peter Maurin Edîted byLincoln Rice

f or dh a m u n i v e r s i t y p r e s s New York 2020

Copyrîght © 2020 Fordham Unîversîty Press

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Prînted în the Unîted States o Amerîca

22 21 20 5 4 3 2 1

Fîrst edîtîon

Contents

 Introductîon  Easy Essays Publîshed înThe Catholic Worker  Unpublîshed Easy Essays

Appendix I: Four Interviews with Peter Maurin Appendix II: Peter Maurin’s Radio Interview Appendix III: Peter Maurin’s Book Recommendations Biographical Glossary to Peter Maurin’s Easy Essays

Acknowledgments Easy Essay Index Name and Topic Index

1 19 423

491 505 509 513

561 563 577

The Forgotten Radîcal Peter Maurîn

Introductîon

Peter Maurîn coounded the Catholîc Worker movement wîth Dorothy Day on 1 May 1933. Durîng the 1930s, both Maurîn and Day regularly gave talks on the Catholîc Worker at churches and college campuses around the country. On one occasîon, Maurîn was scheduled to speak to a Knîghts o Columbus group. Maurîn arrîved în hîs usual shabby suît, and the pastor threw hîm out, complaînîng that he had been sent a “Bow- ery bum.” On another occasîon, în 1939, he was învîted or a meal at a proessor’s home. The proessor, belîevîng that Maurîn was extremely late to theîr home, complaîned to hîs wîe. She responded that a poorly dressed man wîth a strong accent had arrîved earlîer. Thînkîng he was there to read the gas meter, she had sent hîm to the basement, where 1 they dîscovered hîm patîently waîtîng în a chaîr. Durîng hîs lîetîme and sînce, Peter Maurîn has oten been relegated to the basement and îgnored both by those în the Catholîc Worker movement and by îts admîrers. In contrast, Dorothy Day was oten revered by those în the movement durîng her lîetîme, and her reputatîon has only încreased în promînence sînce her death în 1980. In hîs 2015 speech to a joînt sessîon o Congress, Pope Francîs sîngled out Day’s commîtment to socîal justîce as an exam- ple or Amerîcans. Day’s cause or canonîzatîon îs progressîng, and she îs a regular fixture în hîgh school and college theology classes. On the other hand, her Catholîc Worker coounder, Peter Maurîn, îs relatîvely unknown. Not only were Maurîn’s îdeas oundatîonal or Dorothy Day and the Catholîc Worker movement, hîs wrîtîngs în theCatholic Worker newspaper întroduced to the Unîted States Emmanuel Mounîer’s person- alîsm, whîch emphasîzed the prîmacy o the person over the dehumanîz- îng efects o both rugged îndîvîdualîsm and collectîvîsm. Maurîn promoted a return to vîllage lîe and an agrarîan socîety. He belîeved thîs was the only permanent solutîon or the Great Depressîon, o whîch he belîeved îndustrîalîsm to be the prîmary cause. Although hîs message to