| Series | Date | Type | To/From | First Lines | Pub | Full Text | Notes |
| 1 | 1939/03/24 | HLS[x] | from Merton | Well here is this Joyceish thing. It is a dialogue between a master and pupil. What is not clear | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1939/03/30 | HLS[x] | from Merton | Surprised Mr ffin Daruian, and daylighted for your brief lettuce right in these stole of James' Joys | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1939/04/04 | HLS[x] | from Merton | I will be delighted to come to dinner Friday - (Good Friday is not really any stricter than other | |
| |
| 1 | 1939/08/18 | HLS[x] | from Merton | Thanks for your letter. No, I hadn't known about the mermaids with fishes' heads! | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1939/10/24 | TLS[x] | from Merton | I am sending you a masque and a poem. The masque has little or nothing to do with the pastoral: | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1940/04/no? | HNS[x] | from Merton | Here is a poem I wrote. Cobre is a place in the mountains of Cuba near Santiago and the Virgin | Yes |
| [note is written on a typescript of Merton's poem, "Song for Our Lady of Cobre"] |
| 1 | 1940/06/16 | TLS[x] | from Merton | You see I am back here living in Lax's hut. I got back from Cuba a month or so ago. It was fine | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1940/08/25 | TLS[x] | from Merton | It turns out I had to give up my plans about the monastery: my mind was changed for me, not by me. | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1941/01/28 | TLS[x] | from Merton | I am sending you a new poem which is different from any other porm [sic] I ever wrote in some ways, | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1941/02/no? | TLS[x] | from Merton | Thanks for the letter, I was happy you liked the poem. Some time ago I became a Franciscan Tertiary | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1941/11/10 | TLS[x] | from Merton | This is the carbon of a book I am trying to sell--that same agent is working on it. I thought you | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1941/11/14 | HLS[x] | from Merton | Thank you for the letter, and I am very happy you liked the Journal, and want to send it to Sloane. | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1941/11/28 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Thanks very much for sending Sloane's opinion on the <u>Journal</u>. I was rather pleased that | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1941/12/09 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Many thanks for the letter, which I am in too much of a hurry to answer now. I am sending these not | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1941/12/13 | HLS[x] | from Merton | <u>Letter to My Friends</u> [-] Explaining that I am entering the Trappists, in Kentucky. | |
| [dated "St Lucy's Day 1941" - circular letter to friend in poetic form explaining his entry into the Trappists at Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky - contains a separate note for Van Doren at the end of the letter in which he transfers rights to Van Doren for his manuscript of <i>Journal of My Escape from the Nazis</i>] |
| 1 | 1942/04/14 | HLS[x] | from Merton | We are allowed to write letters very seldom, but I got special permission to send you some | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1942/05/15 | HLS | to Merton | I have sent your poems <u>and</u> Journal to Bob, who is happier at Friendship House than I have | |
| |
| 1 | 1943/05/12 | HLS[x] | from Merton | Let these poems serve for news of my religious life. My only activity is to remain motionless | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1944/01/15 | TLS[x] | to Merton | I have sent you by express the following manuscripts by Thomas Merton: Two bound volumes of Journals | |
| [filed at St. Bonaventure with a proposed anthology of poetry that Merton suggests to Van Doren (by various poets, not Merton)] |
| 1 | 1944/02/22 | HLS[x] | from Merton | Tomorrow it will be Lent and I won't be able to write my letters as I am writing this in haste now. | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1944/04/16 | HLS[x] | from Merton | Day by day in this monastery I realize more and more how far I have fasted to show gratitude to all | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1944/12/26 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Since we cannot write during Advent this is my first chance to thank you for the "30 Poems". | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1945/11/07 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Merton | I was waiting til everything got settled with Laughlin before sending these back. Now they are no | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1945/11/07 (#02) | other[x] | from Merton | *=not published. other marks don't count [-] not published * - AFTERNOON [-] ARIADNE | |
| [a list of Merton's poems with marks designating whether each had been published] |
| 1 | 1945/11/07 (#03) | other[x] | from Merton | Manuscripts of poems removed from letter dated 7 Nov. 1945: The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani | |
| |
| 1 | 1946/06/17 | TLS[x] | from Merton | How are you? Here's a bunch of things. I guess the paper shortage is holding up the new book | |
| |
| 1 | 1946/07/07 | HLS | to Merton | ho, I'm still here, and for once all my family are with me. They send their love with mine. | |
| |
| 1 | 1946/09/19 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Maybe by now the ms of the Journal of Escape from the Nazis has got back to you. | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1947/11/05 (#01) | HLS[x] | from Merton | For a long time I have meant to write and haven't had the chance. I don't ever know if I thanked | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1947/11/05 (#02) | other[x] | from Merton | POEM IN THE RAIN AND THE SUN. [-] Watching the world from my peeled doorlight [-] Without my rain | |
| [poem by Merton] |
| 1 | 1947/11/22 | HLS | to Merton | Thank you for a good letter and a good poem. The poem is one of your richest and best, but since | |
| |
| 1 | 1948/03/14 | HLS | to Merton | Your new book, of which Laughlin sent me, generously, three copies, has been read again and again, | |
| |
| 1 | 1948/03/30 (#01) | HLS[x] | from Merton | Easter gives me a chance to acknowledge your beautiful letter about <u>Figures for an Apocalypse</u> | Yes |
| [published transcript of the letter from <i>The Road to Joy</i> includes an error - in the last sentence of the third paragrah, "constant" should be "contact" to read "particular contact with God"] |
| 1 | 1948/03/30 (#02) | HLS[x] | from Merton | I liked very much the poem on your card. Do you know we do not have any of your books here? | |
| |
| 1 | 1949/04/08 | TALS[x] | from Merton | I write to you although it is Lent because my correspondence is now completely out of hand | Yes |
| [contains a brief handwritten note at the end by Dom James Fox, abbot of Gethsemani at the time] |
| 1 | 1953/04/07 | TLS[x] | from Merton | It was wonderful to get the letter and the book, which both arrived long enough before Lent for me | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1953/07/21 | TLS | to Merton | Your words about <u>Spring Birth</u> gave me the greatest pleasure. I was particularly happy | |
| |
| 1 | 1953/08/11 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Merton | In case I do not get a chance to write again before next March, I am doing so now in order to tell | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1953/08/11 (#02) | other[x] | from Merton | AN ELEGY FOR THE MONASTERY BARN (Gethsemani- July 30th, 1953.) [-] As though an aged person | |
| [poem by Merton] |
| 1 | 1953/08/11 (#03) | other[x] | from Merton | TOWER OF BABEL [-] Oratorio [-] Part One. [-] 1 - Musical introduction - formal and solemn, followed | |
| [poem by Merton] |
| 1 | 1954/05/19 | HLS | to Merton | I must clear something up. You will remember that I said when we were with you I had written you | |
| |
| 1 | 1954/06/03 | TLS[x] | from Merton | It was fine to get not one but two letters from you. I am fascinated by the stories. I have read | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1954/06/16 | HLS | to Merton | Well, here's a third (don't be alarmed), to thank you for reading the stories and saying they were | |
| |
| 1 | 1954/10/16 | TLS[x] | from Merton | At last it is raining and I not only have the time to write a letter but am more or less in a mood | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1954/11/15 | HLS | to Merton | Of course you are free to use the poem <u>I/They Spoke</u>. You always have such freedom, | |
| |
| 1 | 1955/10/14 | HLS | to Merton | Dorothy and I are on the move again - probably for the last time in our lives - and yesterday, | |
| |
| 1 | 1955/12/30 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Your wonderful letter from Beaune was a happy surprise. Thank you for thinking of me at the Grande | Yes |
| [earlier copy missing second page - second page (full letter) now copied from collection at Columbia University] |
| 1 | 1956/01/12 | HLS | to Merton | This is your poem if you want it. I wrote it the next day after Bob's in the middle of December, | |
| [contains Mark Van Doren's poem "Once in Kentucky (To Thomas Merton)"] |
| 1 | 1956/02/11 | TLS[x] | from Merton | We want to live in the minds of other people and we are surprised when we find ourselves there, | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1956/03/18 | HLS | to Merton | Thank you for finding what you did in my poem about you, and thank you for these two poems of yours, | |
| |
| 1 | 1956/07/03 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Here are the poems I threatened to send, but at the moment I have not found Birdcage Walk. | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1956/07/30 | TLS[x] | from Merton | I was deeply moved by your last letter. Certainly there is little one can do about being | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1957/04/09 | TLS[x] | from Merton | As I prepare to tell you that I have dedicated my last book of poems to you and Dorothy, I reflect | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1957/05/01 | HLS | to Merton | On this perfect May Day, high and blue, with cool air hiding in corners to surprise the warm air | |
| |
| 1 | 1957/08/21 | HLS | to Merton | Believe it or not, I have written an autobiograph, to be published next year by Harcourt Brace, | |
| |
| 1 | 1957/08/30 | TLS | from Merton | Your letter was wonderful. The idea of the autobiography is a fine one, and I am sure it will be | Yes |
| [letter loaned to Merton Center in 2001 and became part of permanent collection in 2016] |
| 1 | 1957/09/12 | TALS | to Merton | A confession. I was careless about my dates, or rather about my times. We can reach Gethsemani | |
| |
| 1 | 1957/09/17 | HLS[x] | from Merton | By all means come in the afternoon of the 28th. I will be expecting you about two. That will give | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1958/11/20 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Well, they are hammering again, and I am sitting down to another letter. This time it is Father | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1958/12/18 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Quixote is here, where he belongs, among so many others like himself, and most welcome. | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1959/06/06 | TALS[x] | from Merton | I have not yet really written you the "Dear Mark" letter I should have written for the "feast" | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1959/07/24 | TLS[x] | from Merton | This is to you both since I have special thanks to each of you. First to Dot for this book, which I | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1959/10/17 | HLS[x] | from Merton | Do not be surprised at the letterhead- I am just in here for a minor operation. But while here | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1959/10/31 | TL[c] | from Merton | My last letter to you from the hospital was a little inadequate, especially as I was peeved about | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1959/11/02? | HCS | from Merton | To Mark and Dorothy with all love from Tom. [The following printed:] Lovingly prayerful best wishes | Yes |
| [card and envelope loaned to Merton Center in 2001 and became part of permanent collection in 2016 - the catalog of rare book dealer Glenn Horowitz place the Christmas card with the envelope of 1959/11/02, which must have come in the same group of paper, but the envelope could be for letter of 1959/10/31] |
| 1 | 1959/11/12 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Charlie sent me his "confession" signed, "with love from Babylon" which immediately reassured me. | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1960/02/22 | HLS[x] | from Merton | For once I am going to write this by hand for it is quieter, though you probably won't be able to | |
| |
| 1 | 1960/08/09 | HPCS | to Merton | If there were anything left to say about the solitary life, you said it in this beautiful book. | |
| |
| 1 | 1960/09/17 | TALS[x] | from Merton | Thank you for your card about the little book on Solitude. I knew you would like it and understand | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1960/12/02 | HLS | to Merton | Before I forget your postscript (you probably have), Paula Van Doren is my niece - my brother Paul's | |
| |
| 1 | 1961/02/16 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Merton | It is a very long time since I have written. The pretext is this mimeographed thing, a deadpan | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1961/02/16 (#02) | other[x] | from Merton | ORIGINAL CHILD BOMB [-] (Points for meditation: to be scratched on the walls of a cave) | |
| [poem by Merton with a note to Van Doren: "+ for Mark - a dour meditation. Tom."] |
| 1 | 1961/03/19 | TLS | to Merton | Look here, young man, you're going to talk yourself out of Gethsemani. I don't really mean this, | |
| |
| 1 | 1961/05/13 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Merton | All I can say is that as June 6th approaches I am happy that no one but you will be going there | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1961/05/13 (#02) | other[x] | from Merton | THE MOSLEMS' ANGEL OF DEATH [-] (Algeria 1961) [-] Like a jeweled peacock he stirs all over | |
| [poem by Merton] |
| 1 | 1961/06/14 (#01) | HLS | to Merton | Dorothy and I went down last week as guest of Columbia while you were given the medal. | |
| |
| 1 | 1961/06/14 (#02) | other[x] | to Merton | Author Thomas Merton (the Reverend M. Louis, O.C.S.O.) an alumnus and former instructor in English | |
| [news release from Columbia University about Merton receiving the University Medal of Excellence - dated 1961/06/01 and sent with 1961/06/14 letter by Van Doren] |
| 1 | 1961/06/14 (#03) | other[x] | from Kirk, Grayson / to Merton | Gifted master of language, in poem and prose, light-hearted as you are grave, you have reached out | |
| [statement from Grayson Kirk, President of Columbia University, on the occasion of Merton receiving the University Medal of Excellence - dated 1961/06/06 and sent with 1961/06/14 letter by Van Doren] |
| 1 | 1961/06/14 (#04) | HNS[x] | from Russell [no surname] | Bob Harron wrote the Merton citation. It was good to have a glimpse of you. [-] Yours [-] Russell | |
| [dated 1961/06/06 and sent with 1961/06/14 letter by Van Doren] |
| 1 | 1961/06/14 (#05) | HNS[x] | from Ayres, Jean | President Kirk himself, I am told, wrote the Commencement citation for Thomas Merton, in addition | |
| [from Jean Ayres, Assistant to Mr. Herpers at Columbia University, on the occasion of Merton receiving the University Medal of Excellence - dated 1961/06/08 and sent with 1961/06/14 letter by Van Doren] |
| 1 | 1961/06/14 (#06) | TLS[x] | from Harron, Robert | Nothing could have pleased me more than the letter I received from you about the Merton citation. | |
| [from Bob Harron, Assistant to the President at Columbia University, on the occasion of Merton receiving the University Medal of Excellence - dated 1961/06/12 and sent with 1961/06/14 letter by Van Doren] |
| 1 | 1961/06/21 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Here is the June solstice and I thank you for the medal in its box with its message of light | |
| |
| 1 | 1961/09/09 (#01) | HLS | to Merton | Yes, I'm to be in Louisville (Bellarmine College) December 1 and 2. And since I am due in | |
| |
| 1 | 1961/09/09 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Harron, Robert | I have returned from an absence in the Middle West and, in going through recent files, came upon | |
| [from Bob Harron, Assistant to the President at Columbia University - dated 1961/07/31] |
| 1 | 1961/09/09 (#03) | TL[c] | from Merton to Grayson Kirk | Yesterday evening I received from the Father Abbot of our monastery the University Medal for | |
| [from Merton to Grayson Kirk, President of Columbia University - dated 1961/06/16 - poor copy, see "Kirk, Grayson" file for clearer version] |
| 1 | 1961/09/20 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Merton | It was good to get your letter and I am very happy that you can come. Sunday is not the best | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1961/09/20 (#02) | other[x] | from Merton | A LETTER TO PABLO ANTONIO CUADRA CONCERNING GIANTS [-] At a moment when all the discordant | |
| |
| 1 | 1961/11/13 | HLS | to Merton | I have learned that I have lectures (reading) to give both Friday and Saturday right in Louisville, | |
| |
| 1 | 1961/11/22 | TLS[x] | from Merton | Thank you for the latest letter: I was deeply touched that the Thurbers wanted a copy of the poem | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1961/12/07 | HLS | to Merton | For all your lovely deeds and words, much thanks. I shall never forget that day, at the retreat, | |
| |
| 1 | 1962/01/15 | TLS[x] | from Merton | I hear indirectly that this awful business about Charlie is starting up again. I hope that it is | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1962/01/18 | TLS[x] | from Merton | J. was here and left yesterday. I asked him if there was anything new about Charlie | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1962/01/26 | HLS | to Merton | Your first letter came by chance after the second but no matter: the whole thing is over | |
| |
| 1 | 1962/02/04 | HLS | to Merton | Your last two pieces, on Christian Action and Father | |
| [includes typescript of Van Doren's poem "Prophet"] |
| 1 | 1962/03/29 | HLS[x] | from Merton | If I have not written sooner about the Prophet poem it is probably because I am too busy with | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1962/04/03 | HPCS | from Merton | ~~~ | |
| [no words, just a wavy line - there is no signature or return address, but it is addressed to Van Doren and postmarked from New York] |
| 1 | 1962/04/04 | HLS | to Merton | I languished a whole day without the poems you promised. Here they are now, though, | |
| |
| 1 | 1962/05/30 | HLS | to Merton | Trips and other silly things delayed my reading of your <u>Letters</u>. I'm sorry for myself, | |
| |
| 1 | 1962/08/09 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Merton | Here, a poem. That is all. I have no other pretext for writing, but glad to have this one. | Yes |
| [Cold War Letters #99] |
| 1 | 1962/08/09 (#02) | other[x] | from Merton | GRACE'S HOUSE [-] On the summit: it stands on a fair summit [-] Prepared by winds: and solid smoke | |
| [typescript of poem by Merton] |
| 1 | 1962/08/09 (#03) | transcript | from Merton | Here, a poem. That is all. I have no other pretext for writing, but glad to have this one. | Yes |
| [Cold War Letters #99 - copy from bound set] |
| 1 | 1963/07/28 | HLS | to Merton | Long time no write, no see, but plenty often think about. And now comes <u>The Early Legend</u>, | |
| |
| 1 | 1963/08/18 (#01) | TAL[c] | from Merton | Thanks for the letter and above all for the book. THE book in every way: yours, ours, the year's, | Yes |
| [verso: draft of letter's first couple of lines] |
| 1 | 1963/08/18 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | Thanks for the letter and above all for the book. THE book in every way: yours, ours, the year's, | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1963/09/07 | HLS | to Merton | Paeans to you for your wonderful words about my giant book. I had feared it was too big, | |
| |
| 1 | 1964/01/07 | TLS | to Merton | <u>Emblems of a Season of Fury</u> has been giving off daily, nightly, by my chair in the living | |
| |
| 1 | 1964/02/11 (#01) | TAL[c] | from Merton | I have not been able to keep track of who owes who letter (as if there were scoresheets in these | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1964/02/11 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | I have not been able to keep track of who owes who letter (as if there were scoresheets in these | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1964/02/11 (#03) | other[x] | from Merton | MESSAGE TO POETS [-] Brothers, I speak to you from a distance as one who should be there. | |
| |
| 1 | 1964/03/17 | TLS | to Merton | Your last letter (not owed: letters aren't owed, any more than breaths are, or smiles) followed me | |
| |
| 1 | 1964/07/23 | HLS | to Merton | I break the silence of your summer (if silence) to say that Ted Andrews, our Shaker furniture friend | |
| |
| 1 | 1964/08/04 (#01) | TAL[c] | from Merton | Thanks for the word in the silence. I am sorry only of the occasion for it. I had as a matter | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1964/08/04 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | Thanks for the word in the silence. I am sorry only of the occasion for it. I had as a matter | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1964/12/19 (#01) | TL[c] | from Merton | Yes, you bet we got winter. Your card woke me out of hibernation. Not really. But I have not been | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1964/12/19 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | Yes, you bet we got winter. Your card woke me out of hibernation. Not really. But I have not been | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1965/01/03 | TLS | to Merton | I shouldn't answer your last letter so soon, but tomorrow we go away for six weeks and I don't want | |
| |
| 1 | 1965/09/29 | HLS[x] | from Merton | How are you? I hope in good health now, though last I heard you were in a hospital. | |
| |
| 1 | 1965/10/08 | HLS[x] | from Merton | I'm fine, thank you. Hospital? I've never been in one - yet. True, in January I had a traumatic | |
| |
| 1 | 1966/02/16 | TLS | to Merton | I have hesitated to intrude upon your retreat, which even the New York <u>Times</u> knows about, | |
| |
| 1 | 1966/02/24 (#01) | TL[c] | from Merton | I did not know of the Journal Lax has been keeping. By all means send it along. If it is so good, | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1966/02/24 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | I did not know of the Journal Lax has been keeping. By all means send it along. If it is so good, | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1966/03/06 | TLS | to Merton | Thank you for telling us how you live - I know you live - and for the Tales of Nasrudin, | |
| |
| 1 | 1966/03/17 | HPCS[x] | from Merton | Lax's book is certainly the book of the year. I am really liking it and will send I think | |
| |
| 1 | 1966/07/25 (#01) | TL[c] | from Merton | It is so long since I wrote to you and so much water has gone under the bridge that the bridge | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1966/07/25 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | It is so long since I wrote to you and so much water has gone under the bridge that the bridge | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1966/08/21 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Merton | I forget if I ever sent you these scurrilous lines in praise of Bob Lax's movie career. | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1966/08/21 (#02) | other[x] | from Merton | WESTERN FELLOW STUDENTS SALUTE WITH CALYPSO ANTHEMS THE MOVIE CAREER OF | |
| [typescript of a poem by Merton - "Western Fellow Students Salute with Calypso Anthems the Movie Career of Robert Lax"] |
| 1 | 1968/02/26 | HPCS | to Merton | Heavy footed, for heavy weather. Ponderous gods down here. We are on a two- | |
| [verso: color postcard of a stone statue of the Aztec god Tlaloc - sent from Mexico] |
| 1 | 1968/03/12 (#01) | TL[c] | from Merton | Many thanks for the card of old big boots down in Mexico. I thought seriously of Tlaloc last night | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1968/03/12 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | Many thanks for the card of old big boots down in Mexico. I thought seriously of Tlaloc last night | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1968/03/15 | TLS | to Merton | I shouldn't answer you so quickly, but the fact is that I was about to write you to say that I had | |
| |
| 1 | 1968/04/12 (#01) | TL[c] | from Merton | They can call this Friday Good: bright sun, blue hills, many birds, and the local mockingbird who | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1968/04/12 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | They can call this Friday Good: bright sun, blue hills, many birds, and the local mockingbird who | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1968/04/16 | TLS | to Merton | Use the poem of course if you really like it, and entitulate it as you seefitulate. I know they're | |
| |
| 1 | 1968/06/22 | HLS | to Merton | <u>Monks Pond No. 2</u> is even better - maybe my favorite is | |
| |
| 1 | 1968/07/23 (#01) | TL[c] | from Merton | MPOND iii is now in the press, which is to say it is being typed on stencils by a Jesuit scholastic | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1968/07/23 (#02) | TLS[x] | from Merton | MPOND iii is now in the press, which is to say it is being typed on stencils by a Jesuit scholastic | Yes |
| |
| 1 | 1968/11/29 | HCS | to Merton | I never expected to hear from you in those parts, and when you said the monastery would forward mail | |
| [Christmas card to Merton (never received) - verso: Van Doren's poem, "Winter Calligraphy"] |
| 1 | 1968/11/no? | HPCS[x] | from Merton | I have been confronting this huge presence for about 10 days. Out of 1 month or more in India, most | Yes |
| [verso of postcard - Mount Kanchenjunga in Darjeeling, India] |
| 1 | 1968/12/10 (#01) | telegram | from Burns, Flavian | WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU OF THE DEATH OF FATHER THOMAS MERTON IN BANGKOK | |
| [from Dom Flavian Burns, Abbot of Gethsemani] |
| 1 | 1968/12/10 (#02) | HLS[x] | to Burns, Flavian | Terrible as it is, thank you for sending me tonight the news of Thomas Merton's death. He was one | |
| |
| 1 | 1972/08/19 | HLS | to Center from Van Doren, Mark | I have your letter of August 7, 1972, concerning my correspondence with Thomas Merton. | |
| |
| 1 | 1973/11/30 | TL[x] | from Center to Estate of Mark Van Doren | Mr. Victor Kramer at Georgia State University has requested permission to look at Dr. Mark Van | |
| |
| 1 | 1973/12/03 | HLS | to Center from Van Doren, Dorothy | I am glad to give permission for examination of my late husband's letter to Thomas Merton. | |
| |
| 1 | undated/no/no (#01) | other[x] | from Merton | Maybe the reason why I have written so little is that I have written so much to everybody under the | |
| [see Sub-Section D.9 for original - copy of inscription by Merton to Mark Van Doren from inside mimeograph of "The Cold War Letters" (rare brief version)] |
| 1 | undated/no/no (#02) | other[x] | from Merton | +to Mark and Dorothy Van Doren with all blessings and affection in Christ [-] Tom [-] f M. Louis | |
| [see Sub-Section D.9 for original - copy of inscription by Merton to Mark Van Doren from inside mimeograph of "Notes on Sacred Art"] |
| 1 | undated/no/no (#03) | other[x] | from Merton | +for Mark and Dorothy - with all Christmas blessings - 1960 [-] Tom. | |
| [see Sub-Section D.9 for original - copy of inscription by Merton to Mark and Dorothy Van Doren from inside offprint of "The Catholic and Creativity"] |
| 1 | undated/no/no (#04) | other[x] | from Merton | +Mark - sorry for my delay in sending this - I can't remember if I already sent you a copy. Tom. | |
| [see Sub-Section D.9 for original - copy of inscription by Merton to Mark Van Doren from inside mimeograph of "Notes on Genesis"] |
| 1 | undated/no/no (#05) | other[x] | from Merton | +for Mark and Dot with whom I have no disputes for whom I have nothing but the deepest friendship | |
| [see Sub-Section B.6 for original - copy of inscription by Merton to Mark and Dorothy Van Doren from inside of <i>Disputed Questions</i>] |
| 1 | undated/no/no (#06) | other[x] | from Merton | +to Mark and Dot a rather <u>late</u> announcement but valid for any day. Tom | |
| [see Sub-Section B.6 for original - copy of inscription by Merton to Mark and Dorothy Van Doren from inside of <i>Disputed Questions</i>] |
| 1 | undated/no/no (#07) | other[x] | from Merton | for Mark - handle with care - happy new year [-] Tom | |
| [see Sub-Section B.6 for original - copy of inscription by Merton to Mark Van Doren from inside of <i>Seeds of Destruction</i>] |
| 2 | 1941/12/16 | TLS[x] | from Stone, Naomi Burton | Mr. Merton has told me that he has given all rights in his JOURNAL OF MY ESCAPE to you and this is | |
| [from Naomi Burton Stone, Merton's friend and literary agent from New York City, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1944/01/06 | TLS[x] | from Plassmann, Thomas | Many thanks for your kind favor of December 26. I feel that we can accept the revelations that Tom | |
| [from Fr. Thomas Plassmann, Franciscan priest and President of St. Bonaventure College in New York, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1944/01/20 | TLS[x] | from Herscher, Irenaeus | At the request of Father Thomas Plassmann, President of St. Bonaventure College, may I kindly | |
| [from Fr. Irenaeus Herscher, Franciscan priest and librarian of Friedsam Memorial Library at St. Bonaventure College in New York, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1944/02/07 | HLS[x] | from Laughlin, James | I'd be delighted to give Merton's ms. serious consideration. Would you be kind enough to send me | |
| [from James Laughlin, head of New Directions publishing in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Mark Van Doren - he writes from Alta, Utah] |
| 2 | 1944/03/06 | HLS[x] | from Laughlin, James | I like the Merton poems quite a lot and would like to include him in the "Poets" series for 1944. | |
| [from James Laughlin, head of New Directions publishing in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Mark Van Doren - he writes from Alta, Utah] |
| 2 | 1944/03/28 (#01) | TL[x] | from Laughlin, James | Here is a brief contract which I hope you will find OK. If you will sign and send me one copy, | |
| [from James Laughlin, head of New Directions publishing in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Mark Van Doren - he writes from Holladay, Utah] |
| 2 | 1944/03/28 (#02) | other[x] | from Laughlin, James | MEMORANDUM OF AN AGREEMENT entered into this 28th day of March, 1944, by & between | |
| [signed by Van Doren and James Laughlin, head of New Directions publishing in Norfolk, Connecticut] |
| 2 | 1944/06/27 | TLS[x] | from Laughlin, James | I hope you are well and thriving. I am sending you a set of pages of the new book of poems by Jean | |
| [from James Laughlin, head of New Directions publishing in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1944/07/07 | TLS[x] | from Laughlin, James | There is every indication that the little Merton book will be sold out before the end of the year. | |
| [from James Laughlin, head of New Directions publishing in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1946/07/31 | TLS[x] | from Laughlin, James | That is good news that Merton is interested in another book. From my business point of view, since | |
| [from James Laughlin, head of New Directions publishing in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1946/09/12 | TLS[x] | from Rago, Henry | Thomas Merton has asked me to send you his manuscript, JOURNAL OF MY ESCAPE FROM THE NAZIS | |
| [from Henry Rago, Associate Editor of Pellegrini & Cudahy publishers in Chicago, Illinois, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1948/07/21 | TLS[x] | from Giroux, Robert | Thomas Merton's THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN was earmarked for you long ago, and an advance | |
| [from Robert Giroux, an editor at Harcourt, Brace publishers and friend of Merton, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1948/10/04 | HLS[x] | from Shuster, George / to Irita Van Doren | Here is a piece about Thomas Merton's book - and I hope not too unctuous a one. Certainly it ought | |
| [from George N. Schuster, President of Hunter College in New York City, to Irita Van Doren, who was an editor at <u>The Nation</u> and the <u>New York Herald Tribune</u>, and was married to Mark Van Doren's brother, Carl] recommends <i>The Seven Storey Mountain</i> - references to Mark Van Doren |
| 2 | 1948/11/29 | HLS[x] | from Albert, Brenda | Over this week end I had the rare privilege of reading your former pupil, Thomas Merton's book, | |
| [from Brenda Albert of the Mechanical Engineering Department of John Hopkins University to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1949/01/05 | TLS[x] | from Giroux, Robert | I think the enclosed novel, by Elizabeth Charlotte Webster, will interest you. It's a posthumous | |
| [from Robert Giroux, an editor at Harcourt, Brace publisher and friend of Merton, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1950/10/15 | HLS[x] | from Paganuzzi, Adolph / to Merton | (after having read 'The Seven Storey Mountain' [-] "Die nobis Thoma, quid vidiate in via?" | |
| [from Adolph Paganuzzi of New York City to Merton] |
| 2 | 1950/11/07 | HLS[x] | from Paganuzzi, Adolph | It is with hesitation that I begin this letter because I am afraid that I shall never be able | |
| [from Adolph Paganuzzi of New York City to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1955/05/10 | HLS[x] | from Keenan, Thomas, Mrs. | I was just taking a few minutes to read Bite the Bullet by Dorothy | |
| [from Mrs. Thomas F. Keenan of Dorchester, Massachusetts, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1958/04/25 | HLS[x] | from Hornby, John | On behalf of our Columbia Undergraduate Newman Club may I again express our appreciation | |
| [from John Hornby, Social Chairman of the Newman Club at Columbia University, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1958/05/16 | HLS[x] | from Rea, James Edward | I find myself at a loss for words to describe the experience of having you talk of your friend, | |
| [from James Edward Rea, Counselor to Catholic Students at Columbia University, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1959/08/04 | TLS[x] | from Laughlin, James | Many thanks for your card of the 31st, about the manuscript of Tom's "Selected Poems." I think this | |
| [from James Laughlin, head of New Directions publishing in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1959/08/10 | TLS[x] | from MacGregor, Robert | I have your postcard to J. Laughlin, and was going to write you anyway. J. is on his way to Europe | |
| [from Robert M. MacGregor, Vice President of New Directions publishing from Norfolk Connecticut, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1959/10/07 | TLS[x] | from MacGregor, Robert | Griselda Channessian gave me your "preface" for Thomas Merton's SELECTED POEMS late yesterday, | |
| [from Robert M. MacGregor, Vice President of New Directions publishing from Norfolk Connecticut, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1959/10/27 | TLS[x] | from Laughlin, James | I am just back from a very pleasant visit in Europe, where I put my boy in a school in Bavaria, | |
| [from James Laughlin, head of New Directions publishing in Norfolk, Connecticut, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1960/08/19 | TLS[x] | from Thompson, Lawrence | I am working on a little project to have an exhibition on modern American poets some time | |
| [from Lawrence S. Thompson, Director of Libraries at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1960/12/11 | TLS[x] | from Markert, Louise | I was one of the privileged persons to hear you speak at the recent Conference of the National | |
| [from Louise Markert, an English teacher from Seattle, Washington, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1961/03/15 | TLS[x] | from Kirk, Grayson | The Trustees have chosen Thomas Merton to be a recipient of the University Medal for Excellence this | |
| [from Grayson Kirk, President of Columbia University, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1961/08/02 | TLS[x] | from Senatore, John | While reading your <u>Autobiography</u> with great interest, I discovered on page 269, in your | |
| [from John Senator, writing from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1961/12/15 | TLS[x] | from Dougherty, Jude | On behalf of Louisville's Book-A-Semester Program may I thank you for your appearance in Louisville. | |
| [from Jude P. Dougherty, writing from Bellarmine College in Louisville, Kentucky, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1963/05/21 | HLS[x] | from Martin, Esther | At Bethany College ten days ago I had the treat of hearing you speak. I know you will recall where | |
| [from Esther Martin of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1966/no/no? | TLS[x] | from ? | Thanks for your card. This issue of LATITUDES proved one thing to me: people are reading it! | |
| [from an unknown correspondent to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1968/12/10 | HLS[x] | to Burns, Flavian | Terrible as it is, thank you for sending me tonight the news of Thomas Merton's death. He was one | |
| [from Mark Van Doren to Flavian Burns, Abbot of Gethsemani] |
| 2 | 1968/12/11 | TLS[x] | from Cuneo, Paul | We are happy to know that you will be able to do for us a short article on Thomas Merton. | |
| [from Paul Cuneo, Book Editor from the magazine <u>America</u> in New York City, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1968/12/18 | TLS[x] | from Ambrose, Lee | If you would be willing to write a note on Thomas Merton for the FORUM, though you have written | |
| [from Mrs. Lee Ambrose, editor of <u>Columbia Forum</u> (of Columbia University), to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1968/12/19 | TLS[x] | from Cuneo, Paul | Many thanks for your moving tribute to Thomas Merton which we received this morning and which | |
| [from Paul Cuneo, Book Editor from the magazine <u>America</u> in New York City, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/01/05 | HLS[x] | from Michael Mary, Sr. | This is a "thank you" note, a note of "sympathy" and also a note of "friendship." It is a "thank | |
| [from "Sr. Michael Mary" of St. Mary's Convent in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/01/06 | HLS[x] | from Schretzmann, Walter | I would like very much to meet you during my Easter Vacation. I would like to talk to you | |
| [from Walter Schretzmann, a 16 year old student from New York City, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/01/07 | TLS[x] | from Finley, Mitchel | When I sat down to write this letter to you a few minutes ago I had intended to ask you about Thomas | |
| [from Mitchell B. Finley to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/01/10 | TLS[x] | from Roseliep, Raymond | I wish to thank you for that touching essay on Tom Merton in <u>America</u>. Though I must confess | |
| [from Raymond Roseliep, a Catholic priest and poet serving as chaplain at Mount Saint Francis in Dubuque, Iowa, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/01/14 | TLS[x] | from Merton | With this letter I am sending you some back copies of <u>Continuum</u>, a quarterly which I suspect | |
| [from Justus George Lawler, editor at Herder and Herder publishers, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/01/20 | TLS[x] | from Giroux, Robert | My piece on Tom worked out a little differently than I expected. I don't know whether the Columbia | |
| [from Robert Giroux, editor and publisher at Farrar, Straus & Giroux and friend of Merton, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/01/23 (#01) | TLS[x] | from Ambrose, Lee | Your piece on Thomas Merton arrived this afternoon and we are delighted with it. Thank you so much. | |
| [from Mrs. Lee Ambrose, editor of <u>Columbia Forum</u> (of Columbia University), to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/01/23 (#02) | HLS[x] | from ? | May God be Praised for the Brilliant mind He endowed you with - for the opportunity to achieve | |
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| 2 | 1969/01/29 | HPCS[x] | from O'Gorman, Ned | Beauty and love in that memory of Tom - In homage and love [-] Ned [last name difficult to read] | |
| [from Ned O'Gorman, poet from New York City, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/01/31 | TLS[x] | from Arnold, Walter | I hope this note finds you and your family well and flourishing. I am writing because I happened | |
| [from Walter Arnold, editor at E. P. Dutton publishers in New York City, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/02/01 | HLS[x] | from Crane, Milton | I write to say that I have read – and have been much moved by – your eloquent essay on Tom Merton. | |
| [from Milton Crane, English professor at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/02/04 | TLS[x] | from Devons, Judith | We have just received at the FORUM office the galleys of your obituary to Thomas Merton, and they | |
| [from Judith Devons, Assistant to the Editor of <u>Columbia Forum</u> magazine (of Columbia University), to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/02/05 | TL[x] | to Devons, Judith | For the life of me I can't find anything wrong with this proof, so here it is with my OK. | |
| [to Judith Devons, Assistant to the Editor of <u>Columbia Forum</u> magazine (of Columbia University), from Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | 1969/02/10 | TLS[x] | from Lawson, Nora | Recently, I was bereft of a friend whom I loved, although I had not, and likely would never have, | |
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| 2 | 1969/03/11 | HLS[x] | from Irvine, Ralph | I have quite a collection of clippings on Thos. Merton since his death. Yours from America was | |
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| 2 | undated/10/06 | TLS[x] | from Gorman, William [?] | It has seemed to me that you should at least know how pleasurable to me have been my several recent | |
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| 2 | undated/no/no | other[x] | | An immense amount of life went out of the world when Thomas Merton died suddenly in Bangkok | |
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| 2 | undated/no/no | HLS[x] | from Maurice, Sr. | I am very deeply interested in enkindling a love of poetry. The desire encouraged me to write | |
| [from Sr. M. Maurice of the Sacred Heart Convent in Syracuse, New York] |
| 2 | undated/no/no | TLS[x] | from Giroux, Robert | I liked your piece about Tom in <u>America</u> immensely. The quotations from his letters are very | |
| [from Robert Giroux, editor and publisher at Farrar, Straus & Giroux and friend of Merton, to Mark Van Doren] |
| 2 | undated/no/no | HNS[x] | from ? | That's a beautiful compliment paid to you on pp 138-9 of "The Seven Storey Mountain" by Thomas | |
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| 2 | undated/no/no | other[x] | | THOMAS MERTON, MONK [-] The sudden death of Thomas Merton last December sent letters flying | |
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| 2 | undated/no/no | other[x] | | THOMAS MERTON: A Personal Memoir [-] By Robert Giroux '36 [-] I knew Thomas Merton for thirty-three | |
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