Where Time its Silence Keeps
Poems from Gethsemani
Paul Quenon, OCSO
Paperback
ISBN 9781966608295
Price $23.95
eBook available
June 9, 2026
In the spirit of monk-poets Hanshan, Thomas Merton, and Philip Wallen
Trappist monk Paul Quenon spends his days in prayer, contemplation, and the monastery kitchen. These poems reflect those places and those moments. The Kentucky knobs play a role, as do the creatures and birds that live there. Nocturnal vigils, too, are important to the poems, and some of them were written like hymns to be sung rather than spoken. This is the work of a poet at the height of his powers, in his ninth decade of a life well-lived.
The book also includes a rare interview with the poet, which includes this: “I want a poem to be a poem. It is more than descriptive prose, more than an account of the state of my soul, a record of what I’ve experienced, information about my spiritual life. A poem steps into a space of its own. It nudges along with a spirit of its own, and is best when it surprises me. If I know ahead of time what I want to write, that is a drag and will bore the reader. Best to be free of pre-conceived ideas, and best when I’m obedient to the poem, to whatever it wants.” (Brother Paul Quenon)
Paul Quenon, OCSO entered the Abbey of Gethsemani at age 17. Thomas Merton was his novice master. Remarkable teachers and mentors furthered his development, such as John Eudes Bamberger, Dan Walsh, Flavian Burns, and Beatrice Bruteau. He studied theology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and taught and lived at a monastery in Nigeria, Awhum. He has played an active role in the International Thomas Merton Society for a half-century. His memoir, In Praise of the Useless Life, received a Catholic Press Award for memoirs, and he has published ten books of poetry. Now in his eighties, he continues his life of choir, prayer meditation, and cooking at the monastery.“Brother Paul’s delight in the world, and his gift for putting words to wonder, would make his old novice master Thomas Merton beam.” —Pico Iyer, author of The Half Known Life: In Search of Paradise
“Brother Paul writes wonderfully, spontaneously, variously, breathlessly of life lived at maximum intensity, in silence and gratitude. You may not be a monastic, but you will recognize—like a quiet echo inside—your own life in his.” —Norman Fischer, poet and author of What Is Zen?
