Lynn Szabo, MA

Professor Emerita of English

Prof. Lynn Szabo is a distinguished scholar of the poet, mystic, and political activist Thomas Merton, an emerging, significant figure in twentieth century American literary studies. She is the editor of the first comprehensive selection of Merton’s poetry, In the Dark Before Dawn: New Selected Poems of Thomas Merton. As an Americanist, her other recent work includes a study of the nineteenth-century poet Emily Dickinson. She is a published poet and teaches creative writing courses in the department.

  • MA English (University of British Columbia)
  • BA (Hons.) (University of Saskatchewan)

Expertise

American literature, Thomas Merton's Poetics, Canadian women poets, Creative Writing, Genre studies, Literature & Spirituality, and Christian mysticism.

Awards & Honors

  • Board of Directors - International Thomas Merton Society
  • Convenor - International Scholar's Retreats. International Thomas Merton Society. Abbey of Gethsemani (Kentucky)
  • General editor - Thomas Merton's poetry. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (1999-2003). Shannon Fellowship
  • Reviewer - Canadian Book Review Annual
  • Visiting professor - Humanities Institute (Simon Fraser University; 2002)

Recent Publications

  • In the Dark Before Dawn: New Selected Poems of Thomas Merton. Lynn R. Szabo, ed. New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 2005.
  • "Hiding the Ace of Freedoms: Thomas Merton's 'Cables to the Ace.'" The Merton Annual 15 (Winter 2002): 203-221.
  • "Thomas Merton: A Man for our Times." Canadian Theological Review 20 (Fall 2001): 2-15.
  • "The Sound of Sheer Silence: A Study in the Poetics of Thomas Merton." The Merton Annual 13 (2000): 204-13.

Affiliations & Memberships

  • Association of Canadian Teachers of University English
  • International Thomas Merton Society
  • The Merton Annual (Editorial Board)
  • Thomas Merton Society of Canada