The Poetry of Liturgy
Kathleen Norris's The Cloister Walk
Amy Catherine Boucher
July 1, 1997
The Cloister Walk
"What's a woman like you doing in a place like this?" I kept asking Kathleen Norris as I read her Cloister Walk. In it Norris, a married fortysomething poet, Protestant, and self-described doubter, relates a year in her life as an oblate to a Benedictine monastery. Her meandering thoughts reveal her delight in the cloistered life, and especially its community, ceremony, and liturgy; the book's popularity reflects a kindred chord of yearning among fellow seekers and believers.
Several themes in particular stand out in Norris's book of reflections: community life, ceremony, and celibacy. Huge numbers of our generation don't seem to be flocking to sign up for a life of celibacy, but many are seeking to express their faith through a shared, intentional life and a stronger liturgical expression of worship.
Norris portrays the life of a cloistered community with realism and humor. In so doing she dispels many of the myths surrounding monks and nuns as living on a higher spiritual plane. "Anyone who knows us," says one of the sisters in the community where Norris spent two nine-month stints, "knows we're down to earth. We have to be, to be living in community as we do."
This realism flows forth from the views of Benedict, whose Rule governs the community. Norris comments: "Benedict knows that practicalities … are also spiritual concerns. Many communal ventures begun with high hopes have foundered over the question of who takes out the garbage. Over and over, the Rule calls us to be more mindful of the little things, even as it reminds us of the big picture, allowing us a glimpse of who we can be when we remember to love."
Norris applies the lessons she's learned in [he monastery to the small South Dakota town ...
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