The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University



Advanced Search 


Merton's Correspondence with:

Fr. Aelred Graham, O.S.B.; Dom Francis Aelred Graham, O.S.B; Graham, Francis Aelred, Fr., O.S.B.

Graham, Aelred, Dom, O.S.B., 1907-1984  printer

 
 

Descriptive Summary

Record Group: Section A - Correspondence
Dates of materials: 1953-1983, bulk 1953-1968
Volume: 48 item(s); 77 pg(s)

Scope and Content

Aelred Graham wrote one of the first negative reviews of Merton's work in 1953. Merton kept in touch with Graham and later wrote praise for Graham's book Zen Catholicism. On a visit to Gethsemani, Graham lectured Merton's novices on Zen, a recording of which is in the audio archives of the Merton Center. (Source: The School of Charity, p. 48.)

Biography

Dom Aelred Graham was a Benedictine monk from Ampleforth Abbey in England. From 1951-1967, he served as superior of the Portsmouth Priory in Rhode Island. All letters by Graham are addressed from Portsmouth, Rhode Island, except the 1968 letters and others as noted. (Source: obituary of Fr. Aelred Graham from the Ampleforth Abbey Library by Fr. Patrick Barry, O.S.B.)

Usage Guidelines and Restrictions

Please click here for general restrictions concerning Merton's correspondence.

Related Information and Links

See also published letters from Merton to Graham in The School of Charity, pp. 48-49, 167, 181-182, 187-188,

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

Series NumberSeries NameTotal Records
1 Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graham. 30
2 Correspondence from Dom Aelred and Fr. Louis file kept by Dom James Fox (added Aug. 2014) 7
3 Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Louis file kept by Dom James Fox (added Aug. 2014) 11

Container List

Click icons for links: ✓="Published | Library Record", ✉="Scanned" | 🗷="Scanned, Viewable Only at Merton Center"

#DateFrom/ToFirst LinesPub ✓Notes
 y/m/dMerton Scan ✉ 
1. Series 1: 1953/01/15 transcript from Merton This is just a note to thank you for the article you wrote about me in the Atlantic. ✓ Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... [transferred from Sub-Section H.7, Hart Working Files, Accession 2] «detailed view»
2. Series 1: 1953/02/05 HLS[x]  from Graham, Aelred / to Robert Giroux Many thanks for "The Sign of Jonas" which I am reading through with interest. It seems to confirm Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
3. Series 1: 1953/02/14 TLS[x] to Merton Having just finished reading your "SIGN OF JONAS" (in my view by far the most attractive of all your Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... [see Section 2 for original] «detailed view»
4. Series 1: 1953/03/03 TLS[x] to Fox, James A letter from a mutual friend of ours -- William J. McCormack, Jr., an alumnus of Portsmouth Priory Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... [see Series 2 for orignal letter] «detailed view»
5. Series 1: 1963/04/17 HLS to Merton Your very kind and heartening message has just reached me. Only the other day I was reading Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
6. Series 1: 1963/04/24 TALS[x] from Merton As a matter of fact I went ahead and wrote a review. I liked the book so much and found so much ✓ Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... [transferred from Sub-Section H.7, Hart Working Files, Accession 2] «detailed view»
7. Series 1: 1963/04/26 TLS to Merton What a magnanimous person you are! Thank you indeed for your letter, with its stream of intuitions, Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
8. Series 1: 1963/08/24 TLS to Merton Thank you for your kind letter of August 21. Seeing that he is so warmly commended by you I shall Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
9. Series 1: 1963/09/10 TAL[c] from Merton Thanks for your very good letter. I do not know whether Fr John of the Cross will get there, ✓ Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
10. Series 1: 1963/10/03 TLS to Merton As I have just written to Father Thurston N. Davis, S.J. of AMERICA, from time to time we bring out Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
11. Series 1: 1963/11/15 TALS to Merton Your kind letter of November 1st with its enclosures has only just now arrived. I am sorry indeed Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
12. Series 1: 1963/11/19 TAL[c] from Merton Father Abbot showed me your recent letter concerning Father John of the Cross, and asked if I would Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
13. Series 1: 1963/12/02 TLS to Merton I have written today at some length to your Father Abbot, Dom James, about Father John of the Cross Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
14. Series 1: 1963/12/04 TL[c] from Merton It is already a long time since your letter of November 15, which took a little time to reach me. Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
15. Series 1: 1963/12/07 TALS to Merton I have your kind letter of December 4 which seems to have crossed with my recent one to you. Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
16. Series 1: 1963/12/16 TAL[c] from Merton Just a brief answer to your letter, and to assure you that I quite understand the situation ✓ Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
17. Series 1: 1964/03/10 HLS to Merton What a memorable - and how happy an - experience it was meeting and talking with you. Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... [stationery from Saint Louis Priory in Missouri] «detailed view»
18. Series 1: 1964/05/14 TAL[c] from Merton I still have here your note from St Louis, and I had been meaning to answer and say that certainly Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
19. Series 1: 1964/05/20 (#01) TLS to Merton It was very good to have your most welcome letter of May 14th. Thank you indeed for it Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
20. Series 1: 1964/05/20 (#02) other   A new crusade in the offing? [-] By Dom Aelred Graham [-] By his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
21. Series 1: 1968/07/12 TALS to Merton It is much too long since we were last in touch with one another. But now here I am, in quasi Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... [letter care of Elsie Mitchell-- Graham was spending the summer at the house of Elsie and John Mitchell of Cataumet, Massachusetts (see the "Mitchell, Elsie" file in the correspondence)] «detailed view»
22. Series 1: 1968/07/15 TL[c] from Merton Your fine letter was a pleasant surprise-- and just what I needed. the lines you sketch out are Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
23. Series 1: 1968/07/no TALS to Merton I hope I "intuit" correctly in thinking that you may prefer this mode of address. By all means Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... [letter care of Elsie Mitchell-- Graham was spending the summer at the house of Elsie and John Mitchell of Cataumet, Massachusetts (see the "Mitchell, Elsie" file in the correspondence)] «detailed view»
24. Series 1: 1968/08/03 (#01) TLS[x] from Merton Yes, personally I prefer first names. It is so much simpler. And I do value very highly your ✓ Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
25. Series 1: 1968/08/03 (#02) TL[c] from Merton Yes, personally I prefer first names. It is so much simpler. And I do value very highly your ✓ Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
26. Series 1: 1968/08/05 TALS to Merton Many thanks for yours of the 3rd. Mails seem to be agreeably speedy at the moment! Elsie and I Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... [seemingly misdated as 1967/August/05 - written care of Elsie Mitchell-- Graham was spending the summer at the house of Elsie and John Mitchell of Cataumet, Massachusetts (see the "Mitchell, Elsie" file in the correspondence)] «detailed view»
27. Series 1: 1968/08/13 TL[c] from Merton My plans are now shaping up, and it does seem more likely that I can stretch things out so as to get Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
28. Series 1: 1968/08/29 TLS[x] from Merton Many, many thanks for your letter of the 19th and the enclosures. I wrote immediately to Harold Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... «detailed view»
29. Series 1: 1968/10/15 HLS[x] from Merton Today I fly to Asia - tomorrow I hope to be conversing with Bikkhu Khantipulo at Wat Bovoranives.... Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... [on stationery of the Clift Hotel in San Francisco] «detailed view»
30. Series 1: 1983/11/20 TLS  from Fletcher, Wulstan Please forgive me for taking so long in attending to and forwarding the photocopies of Merton's Series 1: Correspondence between Merton and Dom Aelred Graha... [from Wulstan Fletcher, O.S.B. of Ampleforth Abbey in England to Fr. William H. Shannon] «detailed view»
31. Series 2: 1953/02/07 transcript  from Van Zeller, Hubert / to Merton Hesitating about bothering you with an opinion which can obviously make no great difference, Series 2: Correspondence from Dom Aelred and Fr. Louis file ... [from Dom Hubert Van Zeller, O.S.B. (Downside Abbey, near Bath, England) to Merton] «detailed view»
32. Series 2: 1953/02/14 (#01) transcript to Merton Having just finished reading your "SIGN OF JONAS" (in my view by far the most attractive of all your Series 2: Correspondence from Dom Aelred and Fr. Louis file ... [transcript typescript by Dom James and 3 carbon copies] «detailed view»
33. Series 2: 1953/02/16 transcript  from Ahern, Barnabas / to Merton Before Ash Wednesday descends upon us I want to thank you for your last letter. I read that Series 2: Correspondence from Dom Aelred and Fr. Louis file ... [transcript typescript and one carbon copy (two carbons transferred to "Ahern, Barnabas" file] «detailed view»
34. Series 2: 1953/02/20 transcript  from Ahern, Barnabas / to James Fox I am writing directly to you, for I feared a letter to Father M. Louis might not reach him during Series 2: Correspondence from Dom Aelred and Fr. Louis file ... [transcript typescript and two carbon copies (one carbon transferred to "Ahern, Barnabas" file] «detailed view»
35. Series 2: 1953/03/03 TLS to Fox, James A letter from a mutual friend of ours -- William J. McCormack, Jr., an alumnus of Portsmouth Priory Series 2: Correspondence from Dom Aelred and Fr. Louis file ... «detailed view»
36. Series 2: 1953/03/03 TL[c]  from Fox, James / to Aelred Graham We received your charming letter of February 14. I am answering for good Father Louis. Series 2: Correspondence from Dom Aelred and Fr. Louis file ... «detailed view»
37. Series 2: 1964/03/10 transcript to Merton What a memorable - and how happy an - experience it was meeting and talking with you. Series 2: Correspondence from Dom Aelred and Fr. Louis file ... [series Series 1 for original handwritten letter] «detailed view»
38. Series 3: 1953/01/no other   THOMAS MERTON [-] A Modern Man in Reverse by AELRED GRAHAM [-] 1 [-] It is high time that somebody Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [two copies of articles from the "Books and Men" section of Atlantic, January 1953 (Vol. 191, #1), pp. 70-74] «detailed view»
39. Series 3: 1953/02/02 other   Benedictine v. Trappist [-] Ever since the publication four years ago of his bestselling Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [a copy of an article from the "Religion" section of Time magazine, February 2, 1953] «detailed view»
40. Series 3: 1953/02/09 other   Merton's Newest [-] Thomas Merton's "The Sign of Jonas"* is easily his best and most readable book Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [a copy of an article from the "Religion" section of Newsweek magazine, February 9, 1953] «detailed view»
41. Series 3: 1953/03/09 other   The World & Thomas Merton [-] Sir: In your Feb. 2 article "Benedictine v. Trappist" I was very Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [a copy of an article from the "Letters to the Editor" section of Time magazine, March 9, 1953, p.8-9] «detailed view»
42. Series 3: 1953/03/no (#01) other   In the Atlantic Monthly, a local literary sheet not usually given to the publicizing Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [a copy of an article from the "Pointers" section of The Point magazine (Cambridge, MA), March 1953, p. 2] «detailed view»
43. Series 3: 1953/03/no (#02) other   In Defense of Thomas Merton [-] Sir: When Thomas Merton's Seven Storey Mountain was first Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [a copy of an article from the "Repartee, Letters to the Editor" section of Atlantic magazine, March 1953, p. 20] «detailed view»
44. Series 3: 1953/04/no (#01) other   William Davey: Dom Aelred Graham's distressing article "Thomas Merton, A Modern Man in Reverse" Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [a copy of an article "Thomas Merton and Dom Aelred Graham" and one copy of the full journal Integrity (New York), April 1953, p. 34-42] «detailed view»
45. Series 3: 1953/04/no (#02) other   Dear Oblates, Those of you who read this column regularly (there must be very few left by this time! Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [a copy the article "Brother Samson on: The Merton-Graham Controversy" from a full issue The Oblate (Atchison, Kansas), April 1953 (Vol. 5, #4), p. 25-27] «detailed view»
46. Series 3: 1953/05/13 other   To judge from the Catholic press, the Church's activity today is as vigorous as it has ever been. Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [a copy of an article "The Mysticism of Thomas Merton" by Aelred Graham from The Commonweal, May 13, 1955, p. 155-159] «detailed view»
47. Series 3: 1953/no/no? (#01) other   Dom Aelred Graham had been invited to lecture at Notre Dame a month before his article appeared Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [anonymous defense, or transcript of such a statement - could possibly be by Dom James Fox because Fox was at Notre Dame for Graham's referenced lecture / one typescript and three carbon copies] «detailed view»
48. Series 3: 1953/no/no? (#02) other   The word is out to "get" Tom Merton. His name has been marked down for slaughter by sons of Belial Series 3: Articles and Statements from Dom Aelred and Fr. Lo... [anonymous statement, defense of Merton against Graham, titled "A Perverse Son of St. Benedict" / two carbon copies] «detailed view»
Printer-Friendly Version   Return to the Top of the Page

The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University | 2001 Newburg Rd, Louisville KY, 40205 | 502-272-8177 or 8187

Copyright © The Thomas Merton Center at Bellarmine University. All rights reserved.
Photographs copyright of the Merton Legacy Trust. Not to be used without written permission.