Fr. Matthew Lamb was a Trappist monk of Holy Spirit Monastery in Conyers, Georgia. He was writing from Monte Cistello in Rome. He was asking Merton to send a copy of «Seeds of Destruction» to his younger brother, who was a conscientious objector.
Ripu Daman Lama was studying engineering in Cracow, Poland, but was originally from India. He developed an interest in Christianity after becoming acquainted with the Catholic Intellectuals Club and soon was introduced to Merton's writings.
Janet Labuda was a 15-year-old student from St. Joseph's High School in Brooklyn, New York. She asks Merton's help in filling in some biographical details of his life for a term paper she is writing on him.
Pedro Juan Labarthe was a poet originally from Latin American and a friend of Ernesto Cardenal and Cesar Vallejo. He writes from Hudson, Illinois.
Giorgio La Pira was an Italian politician who was twice mayor of Florence and served as deputy of the Christian Democrats. He was serious about his Catholic faith and was in the Third Order of Saint Dominic. He brought his values to his political life and campaigned for peace and against atomic weapons. He has a cause for sainthood and was declared "venerable" by Pope Francis in 2018.
Br. Benedict Kunz was a Trappist monk from Gethsemani Abbey.
Gilda Kuhlman was Production Editor for New Directions and writes from Norfolk, Connecticut.
Robert J. Kreyche wrote about philosophy and mysticism. He attempts to contact Merton after having spent some time with John Howard Griffin. He writes from Shawnee Mission, Kansas.
Marcelle Kraemer-Bach and Pierre Kraemer-Raine were from the French law firm representing the Abbey of Gethsemani while Marie Tadié, a translator and agent for some of Merton's works in romance languages, was threatening a law suit concerning her role as publishing agent. Tadié decided not to file the law suit.
Bishop Rembert Casimir Kowalski was an American-born Franciscan who was later ordained a bishop of Wuchang, China.
Frank Kowalski was a United States Representative for Connecticut. He writes from his office in Washington, D.C. Kowalski retired from the military as a colonel in 1958 and had served under Dwight Eisenhower in World War II. He was a Democrat and voted pro-labor and against improper utilization of the armed forces. In 1962, inspired by "Original Child Bomb", he asks Merton to write a peace prayer to be read in Congress. Later, Kowalski would serve on the Subversive Activities Control Board. (Source: "Kowalski, Frank." «New York Times» obituary. 1974. Online. Biography Reference Bank. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 2005/05/24. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)
Sr. Mary Norbert Körte was a Dominican from San Francisco, California.
Andrew Kormos writes from Santa Ana, California.
Franz Cardinal König was Archbishop of Vienna, Austria.
Janina Kolendo was Chief Editor of «Pax» from the Instytut Wydawncizy of Poland, a Catholic publishing house.
Fr. Bede Kok was a Brazilian Trappist monk.
Brs. Harold Kohl, Brian Palmer and Erasmo Leiva were Trappists novices from the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia.
Perry Knowlton was an editor and later Vice President of Curtis Brown publishers.
Laura Knight was a high school junior at Thomas Jefferson High School in Louisville, Kentucky. She asks for Merton's help in writing a term paper on him.
John W. Kneller was Provost of Oberlin College in Ohio.
Bonaventure Knaebel was a Benedictine Archabbot at the Archabbey of St. Meinrad at the time of writing.
Sr. John Marie Klisiewicz was a Sister of St. Ann of Providence at Mount Saint Ann in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania.
Dom Vital Klinski was born in Poland. In 1904, he entered the Cistercian Abbey of Achel in Belgium and was elected their abbot in 1920. By 1927, he left for the United States to join Gethsemani. He was Merton's confessor at the time of correspondence. (Source: «The School of Charity», p. 10.)
Carl L. Kline, M.D., was a doctor serving in Wausau, Wisconsin, when he wrote this letter to Merton.
Grayson Kirk was President of Columbia University from 1953-1968. He was also a highly acclaimed figure in the study of political science.
Fr. David Kirk was a peace activist and member of the secular institute of the Company of St. Paul. He was studying in Rome in the early letters and later comes back to the United States to help found Emmaus House in New York.
Fr. Nivard Kinsella was a Trappist monk of Mount Saint Joseph Abbey in Roscrea (Ros Cré), Ireland. (Previously filed under "Nivard, Br., O.C.S.O." and moved in 2022.)
Winston L. King was a professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He and Merton discuss Zen and the visit of Shibayama Roshi to Nashville.
Simon King was Director of Burns and Oates publishers and writes from London.
Coretta Scott King, an advocate of civil rights and racial equality, is the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. Merton writes to her after Martin's assassination. She telegrammed Gethsemani following Merton's death.
Fr. Paul Kim writes from Seoul, South Korea.
Francis Kim writes from Taegu [Daegu], South Korea.
Sr. Agnes Jae Soon Kim was from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Seoul, South Korea.
Fr. Thomas Kilduff writes on behalf of «Spiritual Life: A Catholic Quarterly», published by the Discalced Carmelite Fathers.
While David Kilburn was studying in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham in England. He wanted to use some of Merton's poetry for the departmental magazine he edited, «Retort». He later moved to London and worked with the literary magazine «Ambit».
Edward Kikama writes from Japan.
Fr. Robert Kiely was a Trappist monk from Southern Star Abbey in Kopua, New Zealand.
Gabriel Khouri-Sarkis was editor of L'Orient Syrien and a West Syrian Rite Catholic priest. He writes from Paris, France.
Donald Keys was Director of Communication for the International Center for Integrative Studies (ICIS), who published «Forum» (or "Forum for Correspondence and Contact"). Merton's friend Amiya Chakravarty was on the Board of Sponsors.
Julie Kernan was an editor for P. J. Kenedy and Sons in New York. Merton wrote an introduction for a book they were publishing, Raïssa Maritain's «Notes on the Our Father».
Walter Kerell writes from the Catholic Worker in New York.
Br. Fidelis Kerekes was a monk of Gethsemani Abbey.
Catherine Kent was a 23-year-old teacher from Dorchester, Massachusetts, at the time of writing.
Fr. Colum Kenny was a Dominican priest writing from Saint Rose Priory in Dubuque, Iowa.
Fr. James William Kennedy was Director and Editor of Forward Movement Publications, an official agency of the Episcopal Church, USA.
Jacqueline Kennedy was married to President John F. Kennedy. Merton writes to Jacqueline Kennedy after the President's assassination.
Ethel Kennedy is the widow of Robert F. Kennedy and daughter of George and Ann Skakel (see "Skakel, Ann Brannack" file).
Wallace Kendrick was with the Catholic Worker movement.
Gerald E. Kemner is professor emeritus in the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. He composed musical arrangements for two of Merton's poems, "A Picture of Lee Ying" and "The Winter's Night".
Fr. Matthew Kelty was a Trappist monk of Gethsemani Abbey. He was a former missionary priest in Papua New Guinea before joining Gethsemani. He was later able to return to New Guinea as a monk. Merton chose Kelty as his confessor. Among Kelty's published books include collections of talks and sermons he delivered to Gethsemani guests after the monks prayed compline.
Fr. Timothy Kelly was eighth abbot of Gethsemani Abbey, serving in this role from 1973-2000. During the time of this correspondence, he was in his theological studies in Rome.
At the time of writing, Patricia Kelly was a woman in her twenties from Chicago, Illinois. She asks Merton for some advice on some very personal matters of religion.
Mona Kelly writes from Amherstburg, Ontario. She was the mother of Fr. Timothy Kelly, who was later to be the eighth abbot of Gethsemani, serving from 1973-2000.
Mary Lu Kelly was project assistant to Dr. Robert F. Roeming, a French and Italian professor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Rev. J. N. Kelly was pastor of Harrodsburg Christian Church in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
Fr. J. M. Kelly was a Basilian priest and President of St. Michael's College in Toronto.
Frances Kelley was an acquisitions librarian with the King Library at University of Kentucky in Lexington. She writes to provide an address for Merton to send his small press literary magazine «Monks Pond».
William Melvin Kelley was born and raised in New York. He went to Harvard with the intention of becoming a lawyer, but experienced a life-changing desire to become a writer after attending a prose fiction class of John Hawkes. He began writing an did not finish at Harvard. His novels and short stories reflect mythic takes on the frustration of the African American experience of racism in the United States. He first writes to Merton in response to a review Merton wrote for Kelley's first novel, «A Different Drummer», thanking him more that he "got it" than for liking it. The following year, he writes Merton after having read some of his writings. He expresses that he is not a Christian and harbors both happy and bitter memories of his mother's Catholicism. He expresses feeling more affirmed in Catholic Italy, though, than Protestant America. He would later move to Paris, a move to further distance himself from United States culture. He would later seek to rediscover some of the oral history tradition of Africa. Some of his other books include «A Drop of Patience» and «Dəm». (Source: "Kelley, William Melvin". World Authors. 1970. Online. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 2005/05/12. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)
Fr. Thomas Keller was a Benedictine monk writing from Hauterive Abbey, Switzerland.
Born in Minnesota, Ralph Keithahn began as a missionary and social worker in 1925. He was influenced by Gandhi and the movement for the Indian national movement. He later cut ties with the missionary societies of the United States, adopted traditional Indian garb, and lived in an ashram in South India. A contemporary of Bede Griffiths, he similarly drew on both Christian monasticism and the ashram tradition of India. He was a Benedictine oblate when he died. He writes to Merton from the Sarvodaya Ashram.
Fr. Innocent Keith seems to have been a Trappist monk of Gethsemani and librarian there for a time. Merton sends him recommendations on what he thinks should be purchased for the monastic library.
Daryl or Daryll Keene seems to be a woman from California that Merton references in some journal entries in early March of 1968. She came visiting the monastery, had a discussion with Merton, and wanted to relocate to the area and involve him in a project. Merton refused this offer and notes that she had moved on to Louisville or Dayton.
Fr. Daniel José Keegan was a priest of a minor seminary in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Fred Keefe was an editor for «The New Yorker» magazine and agreed to put Merton in touch with Nat Hentoff, who wrote a piece on Lenny Bruce and Bud Powell.
Chester P. Keefe writes to ask Merton about the daily activities of a monk and the layout of Gethsemani Abbey for a senior class design project at the Rhode Island School of Design. They had decided to design a Trappist monastery.
Keating was the founder of «Ramparts» magazine in 1962 and published many articles about civil rights and the Vietnam War, as well as authoring books of these issues. (Source: Reed, Christopher. "Edward Keating" [obituary], The Guardian, ‹http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,948633,00.html›, May 3, 2003.)
Archimandrite Basil Kazan was pastor of St. Michael's Eastern Orthodox Church in Louisville, Kentucky, at the time of writing. Kazan was a composer of sacred music. He visited Merton at Gethsemani, and Merton told him that he planned to write an articles about Kazan's music for the Catholic magazine «Jubilee».
Theodore J. Kavouras writes from Cleveland, Ohio.
Fr. Bernard Kaul was a Cistercian monk writing from Hauterive Abbey, Switzerland.
L. Lauffmann writes from Bruay en Artois, France.
Nicholas de Belleville Katzenbach was United States Undersecretary of State under President Lyndon B. Johnson. He had previously served as Attorney General. Merton writes in plea for the civilian victims of the Vietnam War that the United States make a humanitarian gesture to provide medical relief to the civilian population in North Vietnam.
William A. Katz is a professor at the State University of New York at Albany in the Library Science department (now the School of Information Science and Policy). He was compiling an annotated list of periodicals and asked Merton's help with small press periodicals.
Sr. Kassiani writes from a Greek Orthodox convent in Jerusalem.
Lorraine Karpowich was Editor-in-chief of the 1964 issues of «Blueprint», a quarterly publication of the National Honor Society of the Academy of the Holy Angels, Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Lila Karpf was Director of Subsidiary Rights for Farrar, Straus and Giroux and asks Merton if he is interested in allowing Buchet-Chastel rights to publish «Seasons of Celebration».
Robert Kaiser was a journalist for Time Incorporated and was assigned to Rome for the Second Vatican Council. Personal matters forced him to leave this assignment, but he was planning to write a novel about events associated with the Council. He was trying to arrange a time to visit Merton at Gethsemani in the fall of 1965. In 1968, Kaiser writes on behalf of the National Association of Laymen who were arranging speakers to tour the country and speak on progressive issues concerning the Catholic Church.
Elizabeth Land Kaderli was planning to publish a book containing letters she had received concerning the subject of death from prominent scientists, religious leaders, artists, musicians and authors. Merton had written her in 1962, but no there are no extant letters in the Merton Center collection. Some of the other correspondents included Mark Van Doren, Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts, Robert Oppenheimer, Reinhold Niebuhr, Eleanor Roosevelt, Julian Huxley, Paul Tillich, J. Frank Dobie, Leonard Bernstein, C.S. Lewis, Graham Greene, and Katherine Anne Porter. Kaderli intended the book to be entitled «Letters to Carrie», which did not seem to have been published, possibly due to too many restrictions on usage permissions. Merton gives his consent.
On later letters to Merton, Frank Kacmarcik's letterhead stated he was an "artist, designer, consultant in the sacred arts". After a few years of corresponding with Merton, Kacmarcik and his friend Bob Rambusch visit Gethsemani in October of 1960. Merton notes in his personal journal of being "a little suspicious of the intense activation and restlessness of some of these liturgical enthusiasts", although noting he has "[n]othing against liturgy" (personal journals, 1960/10/16). Kacmarcik became a Benedictine novice at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, in 1940, but left the order and became an assistant chaplain in World War II. After the war, he stayed in Paris and studied at the Académie de la Grand Chaumière and the Centre d'Art Sacré. In 1950, he came back to the United States teaching art for a few years at St. John's University in Collegeville. He did book design and was the longtime artistic director for «Worship» magazine and was a graphic artist for Liturgical Press. He collaborated with Hungarian Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer. St. John's welcomed him back to their community in 1988 as a claustral oblate, where he remained until his death in 2004.
Sr. M. Justina writes Merton's abbot, Dom James Fox, from Joliet, Illinois. The letter concerned Mother Berchmans, of whom Merton wrote in «Exile Ends in Glory», so Dom James likely passed the letter on to him.
Alfonso Junco was a Mexican poet who sends Merton a biography and list of published poetry. He knew Merton's friend Ernesto Cardenal, who was in Mexico at that time, and who gave Junco some of Merton's poetry translated into Spanish.
