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Merton contacts a Columbia University classmate and attorney, John Slate, to help him establish a literary estate.
John H. Slate was a classmate of Merton's at Columbia University. He was a lawyer with the firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York, and specialized in aviation law. In addition, he contributed humorous pieces to Fortune, The Atlantic Monthly, and The Saturday Evening Post. Merton had heard reports about Slate from other Columbia alumni friends, but had not been in direct contact for many years. Slate died of a heart attack later in that same year they were in contact concerning the literary estate.
Please click here for general restrictions concerning Merton's correspondence.
See also the "Slate, Mary Ellen", "Dwyer, Daniel", "Garfinkel, Barry H.", and the "Ford, John J." files; and see also published letters from Merton to John Slate in The Road to Joy, pp. 298-303.
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.
This Record Sub-Group is not divided into Series and is arranged chronologically.
Click icons for links: ✓="Published | Library Record", ✉="Scanned" | 🗷="Scanned, Viewable Only at Merton Center"
| # | Date | From/To | First Lines | Pub ✓ | Notes |
| | y/m/d | Merton | | Scan ✉ | |
| 1. |
1967/02/10 |
telegram to Merton |
GREATLY DISTRESSED BY SEYMOUR FREEDGOOD'S INACCURATE ACCOUNT OF MY JAW FRACTURE |
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«detailed view» |
| 2. |
1967/03/19 |
TL[c] from Merton |
Sy Freedgood has just been here with me for a few days, and we both agreed that it would be a good |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 3. |
1967/03/23 |
telegram to Merton |
LELIGHTED [sic] AND FLATTERED BY YOUR LETTER AND WILL BE GLAD TO HELP |
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«detailed view» |
| 4. |
1967/03/24 |
telegram to Merton |
DELIGHTED AND FLATTERED BY YOUR LETTER AND WILL BE GLAD TO HELP |
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«detailed view» |
| 5. |
1967/03/24 (#01) |
TL[c] from Merton |
Delighted to get your telegram this morning. Yes, come down as soon as you can. |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 6. |
1967/03/24 (#02) |
other[c] from Merton |
Memo concerning literary estate. T. Merton. Some of the points to be considered are: |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 7. |
1967/03/30 |
TLS to Merton |
I have reservations on an Eastern flight which will arrive in Louisville about 9:00 A.M. |
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«detailed view» |
| 8. |
1967/04/07 (#01) |
TALS from Merton |
Here is the xerox of that will. I guess you can figure it out. One of the witnesses took off from |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 9. |
1967/04/07 (#02) |
TL[c] from Merton |
Here is the xerox of that will. I guess you can figure it out. One of the witnesses took off from |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 10. |
1967/04/07 (#03) |
other[x] from Merton |
I Thomas James Merton, in religion fr M. Louis O.C.S.O. heretofore of New York City, NY, now |
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[Merton's will upon entering the Trappists at Gethsemani Abbey]
«detailed view» |
| 11. |
1967/04/07 (#04) |
TLS to Merton |
Arrives backs ins splendids conditions owings tos efficiencys instrumentalities ofs Easterns [sic] |
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[addresses Merton as "Dear Thos" and later notes, "The foregoing sentence will, I think, sufficiently indicate the dangers of pushing the Merton Plural to its extreme extension."]
«detailed view» |
| 12. |
1967/04/09 |
TLS to Merton |
Late bulletin. The Hertz people just called from Louisville to say that they had found my wallet |
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«detailed view» |
| 13. |
1967/04/12 |
TLS to Merton |
Thanks for the Will. I am having a our trust and estate people go over it and set up |
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«detailed view» |
| 14. |
1967/04/15 (#01) |
TAL[c] from Merton |
Thanks for yours of the 12th. I enclose a memo showing the sort of thing I want to do when it comes |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 15. |
1967/04/15 (#02) |
other from Merton |
Memo: concerning my will and testament [1] 1- After discussion of the matter with Rt Rev Dom James |
✓ |
[signed and annotated version]
«detailed view» |
| 16. |
1967/04/15 (#03) |
other[c] from Merton |
Memo: concerning my will and testament [1] 1- After discussion of the matter with Rt Rev Dom James |
✓ |
[2 carbons]
«detailed view» |
| 17. |
1967/04/15 (#04) |
other[c] from Merton |
INVENTORY of manuscripts, notebooks etc. April 1967. [-] I Unpublished material of partly finished |
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«detailed view» |
| 18. |
1967/04/29 |
TLS to Merton |
Thanks very much for sending me Mystics and Zen Masters, which I will read with much interest |
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«detailed view» |
| 19. |
1967/05/04 |
TLS to Merton |
The books have arrived in good shape and I am very pleased to have them. Thank you very much, |
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«detailed view» |
| 20. |
1967/05/22 |
TALS to Merton |
I am extremely sorry to have been so silent (a role which, ha! ha!, would seem to become you more |
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«detailed view» |
| 21. |
1967/05/30 |
TL[c] from Merton |
Records arrived safely, promptly, everything fine. Just the sort of thing I was looking for. |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 22. |
1967/06/06 |
TL[c] from Merton |
J. Laughlin mentioned in a letter you were thinking perhaps of flying to Rome some day to straighten |
✓ |
«detailed view» |
| 23. |
1967/06/07 |
TALS to Merton |
I must have given Jim Laughlin the impression that I was about to go off to Rome to argue |
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«detailed view» |
| 24. |
1967/06/12 |
TL[x] from Merton |
Thanks the letter. Instead of going to Roma to beard Montini in his den you are of [sic] to Mexico |
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[from one folder from the "New Directions Publishing" papers at Harvard, entitled "Letters (carbons) to various people, 1967" - also includes a copy of a letter of June 11 from Merton to Robert Lax]
«detailed view» |
| 25. |
1967/07/25 |
TALS to Merton |
My silence for the past several weeks does not indicate death or anything along those lines, |
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«detailed view» |
| 26. |
1967/09/19 |
other |
JOHN H. SLATE, 54; AVIATION LAWYER [-] Member of Firm Here Dies - Also Magazine Writer |
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[Slate's obituary]
«detailed view» |
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