ITMS 20th General Meeting

Iona University, New Rochelle, New York

from June 17-20, 2027

Conference Registration will open December 1st, 2026

The great, debonair city was both young and old, and wise and innocent … I came down on the dock with a great feeling of confidence and possessiveness. “New York, you are mine! I love you!” It is the glad embrace she gives her lovers, the big, wild city …

The Seven Storey Mountain

Thomas Merton stepped off a ship in New York Harbor in December 1934, entered what he called “the big, wild city,” and transitioned to a new and transformative life. As America’s powerful artistic magnet, New York has always attracted dreamers -- the “creatives” who are driven by something more than material and monetary success. For Merton as a young man, the city represented freedom, exploration, and racial, ethnic, and spiritual diversity. He listened to its musical beats, felt its intellectual energies, studied, absorbed, and eventually influenced its literary culture. The city developed in him a deep and real awareness of the country’s social inequalities and racial prejudices – issues that would become his life-long concerns.

Conference Highlights	Registration Information	Conference Timetable	Student Scholarships

	Traveling to Iona University	Thomas Merton's New York

Plenary Speakers


Adam Bucko	James Martin, SJ	Carrie Newcomer	Stephanie Paulsell

Merton & Poetry


Carolyn Forché	Angela Alaimo O'Donnell	Paul Quenon, OCSO

Thomas Merton and NYC	Presidential Address
Douglas Hertler	Paul Pynkoski

Concurrent Session Speakers:

Merton, Lax and Friends Lillian Doyle / Sylvia Grevel	Merton and the City 1 Kevin Ahern / John Gillespie / Aaron Godlaski	Merton, Then and Now David Golemboski / Alan Kolp

Merton and the Wisdom from the East Swasti Bhattacharyya & Bernadette McNary-Zac / David Odorisio	Merton and Harlem Fady Ghattas / Paul M. Pearson	Merton and the Crisis in Higher Education Aaron Kerr / Joseph Q. Raab

Merton and the City 2 Patrick F. O’Connell / Callie Tabor	Merton and the Friendship of Letters Daniel P. Horan / Julie Leininger Pycior	Merton and Modern Culture Tom Malewitz / Mark C. Meade

Merton and Mysticism Sonia Petisco / Vincent Pizzuto	Merton and New York City Daniel London / Michael N. McGregor	Merton and Being Grounded Jim Robinson / Nicole T. Walters

Merton and Spiritual Traditions Michael Holleran / Matt Riddle	Merton’s New York City Maria Barrera-Agarwal / Ethan Strouse	Merton and Discernment Anne R. Pearson / Megan Way

	Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day & Daniel Berrigan. John Dear / Martha Hennessey / Robert Ellsberg

Workshops, Guided Prayer and Other Presentations:

Creativity towards Connection and Commitment: A Letter-Writing Workshop Inspired by Thomas Merton. Anne & Elizabeth Burkemper	Connecting to the True Self with the Wisdom of Merton, Jung, Rohr, & Others. Cassidy Hall & Mike Petrow	Between the Hermitage & the Highway: Thomas Merton, the Beats, & the Search to Remain Human. Paul Jones

Perry Street Prayers: A Prayer Service of Silence, Music, and Words Inspired by Thomas Merton’s Perry Street Journal. Jeffrey Kiernan	On the Friendship of Thomas Merton & Robert Lax. Judith Emery	The Movements of the Contemplative Life: Exploring Thomas Merton’s Spiritual Journey & Its Echo in Our Lives. Mike Smoolca

Inscape – A Creative Exploration of the Poetry of Thomas Merton & Gerard Manley Hopkins. Carol & Gary Lenox	Cities That Live Within Us: A Guided Meditation on Place, Presence, & the Contemplative Imagination. Nicole T. Walters	Learning resistance: Merton, Bonhoeffer & the Black Christ of Harlem. Gary P. Hall & Paul Pynkoski

‘The Zen Camera’: Contemplative Seeing, Photography, & the Practice of Connection. Xaio Ma	“‘We Are Already One’ Music, Dance & the Wisdom of Thomas Merton. Jacqueline Chew	Entering the Inner Room: A Labyrinth Walk with Thomas Merton. Debra Vinci-Minogue

Perfect Significance. Michael Centore	Merton’s Love of Gregorian Chant. Paul Quenon	From Harlem to Hermitage: Catherine de Huek Doherty & Thomas Merton. Regina Sara Ryan & Chris Pramuk

The Practice of Friendship: Merton, New York, & the Making of a Self . Sophfronia Scott	Conversations with Thomas Merton. Ed Murphy	Thomas Merton & A New York State of Mind. Judith Valente

	Auditio Divina: A Merton Listening Lab in Jazz & New York. Keith Jennings

Conference Registration

Conference Registration will open December 1, 2026
Travel:

Car Air Public Transportation

PDF Map of Iona Campus
ITMS Daggy Scholarships

Applications are now open for the 2027 Daggy Scholars Cohort for the June 2027 ITMS conference
at Iona University - full details, and a link to the application form,
are available at: https://merton.org/ITMS/scholarships.aspx

Daggy Youth/Student Scholarships enable young seekers and emerging scholars to participate in an International Thomas Merton Society Conference, thereby inspiring the next generation of Merton readers and scholars.

These scholarships honor the late Robert E. Daggy, founding member and second president of the ITMS, and cover the costs of registration, meals and accommodation.

For further information about Daggy Scholarships and an application form go to the Daggy Scholarship Web Page. (Those under 18 at the time of the conference must be accompanied by a parent or adult chaperone whose registration will not be covered by the scholarship.)

Program Committee:

Judith Valente, Normal, IL (Chair)

Vaughn J. Fayle OFM., Bronx, NY (Site Coordinator)

Anne Burkemper, Troy, MO

Elizabeth Burkemper, Troy, MO

Kathleen Deignan, New Rochelle, NY

Daniel London, Eureka, CA

Mark C. Meade, Louisville, KY

Paul M. Pearson, Louisville, KY

Paul Pynkoski, Toronto, ON (ex officio)

Joseph Q. Raab, Adrian, MI

James Robinson, Hoboken, NJ

Michael Smoolca, Granby, CT

Kathleen Tarr, Anchorage, AK

Megan Way, East Falmouth, MA (ex officio)

The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

ITMS 20th General Meeting