The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University

MERTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH:
Van Doren, Charles Lincoln, 1926-2019

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Descriptive Summary

Record Group: Section A - Correspondence

Dates of materials: 1959

Volume: 1 item(s); 2 pg(s)

Scope and Content

Merton writes Charles Van Doren a letter in response to a statement of apology made after Van Doren admitted he was involved in a game show television cheating scandal. Merton is critical of a society that first put Charles Van Doren on a pedestal and has now delighted in his downfall.

Biography

Charles Lincoln Van Doren was the son of famed poet Mark Van Doren, Mark having been one of Merton's professors at Columbia University. Charles became an scholar and professor at Columbia University, as well, but his legacy was later overshadowed by scandal. He was a long-term contestant on the game show Twenty-One. His winning streak was later revealed as a fraud.

Usage Guidelines and Restrictions

Related Information and Links

Page 35 of The Road to Joy states that "Merton's letter to Charles Van Doren is included in the final section of this book"; however, the letter was not published there. [Merton's letter to Charles Van Doren was published in The Merton Seasonal within an article on the Quiz Show scandal by Robert Daggy: https://merton.org/ITMS/Seasonal/20/20-2DaggyQuizShowScandal.pdf.

Other Finding Aids

If the person in correspondence with Merton has full text records in the Merton Center Digital Collections, there will be a numeric link to them below.
   

Series List

This Record Sub-Group is not divided into Series and is arranged chronologically.

Container List

SeriesDateTypeTo/FromFirst LinesPubFull TextNotes
 1959/11/07 TL[c]from MertonIt was very good of you to send me a copy of your statement and I am grateful to you for taking  [Merton's letter to Charles Van Doren was published in <i>The Merton Seasonal</i> within an article on the Quiz Show scandal by Robert Daggy: <a target="_blank" href="https://merton.org/ITMS/Seasonal/20/20-2DaggyQuizShowScandal.pdf">https://merton.org/ITMS/Seasonal/20/20-2DaggyQuizShowScandal.pdf</a>]
        

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