Fr. Hilarion Schmock was a Trappist priest from Gethsemani Abbey.
Fr. Luke Schreffer was an Augustinian priest from St. Augustine Monastery in Nova Scotia, Canada.
In 1958, Br. Emmanuel Schuurmans became Abbot of Maria Toevlucht (Mary's Refuge) in Zundert in the Netherlands. He brought about many reforms to his community and Merton discusses with him permission to live the eremitical life and other changes to the Trappist Order.
Rabbi Stephen Schwarzschild was a pacifist rabbi writing from Temple Beth El in Lynn, Massachusetts.
Fr. Sebastian was the editor of «Elias» magazine. He writes from Stella Maris Monastery in Haifa, Israel.
Fr. Seraphim was a Trappist monk from Tilburg Abbey in the Netherlands.
Fr. Dismas Sexton was a Franciscan writing first from the novitiate and later from Saint Joseph Seminary in Teutopolis, Illinois.
With his wife Maisie Ward, Francis Joseph Sheed founded the publishing house of Sheed and Ward in 1926. Sheed was a Roman Catholic theologian and leading apologist of the 20th Century. Born in Australia, he moved to London after his law studies and married Ward in 1926. The following year the established a Roman Catholic publishing house concerned not only with theology but broader issues of literature and culture. In 1933, they founded a New York branch of the publishing company and thenceforth Sheed spent time between the London and New York offices. (Source: "Sheed, F. J." Biography from Current Biography. 1981. Online. Biography Reference Bank. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 2006/04/25. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)
Fr. John B. Sheerin was Paulist priest and editor of «The Catholic World». He writes from New York.
Lawrence Joseph Cardinal Shehan was Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland.
Bob Shepherd was a friend of Merton's from Lexington, Kentucky. He worked in communications and public relations offices at Transylvania College and at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
Francis Shih-hao Shieh was an assistant professor at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Howard Fenimore Shipps was a professor in the Department of Church History at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.
Swami Shivapremananda is the rector and spiritual master of the Cento Sivananda Yoga-Vedanta in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Meg Shore was a student at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and a student of Denise Levertov.
Ambrose Siers was Promotion Manager of the Thomas More Association. He writes from Chicago, Illinois.
Rabbi Lou H. Silberman was a professor from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, who came to Gethsemani with Rabbi Zalman Schachter in mid-August 1962 to speak to the novices regarding Hebrew, the Psalms and the Dead Sea scrolls.
Poet Charles Simic was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. He came with his family in 1949 to the United States, and they settled in Chicago, Illinois. His college studies began at University of Chicago and then New York University. He finished his undergraduate work at NYU after two years of service in the army. After working as a proofreader for the «Chicago Sun-Times», he spent the late 1960's as an editorial assistant to the photography magazine «Aperture» in New York, where Merton corresponds with him about contributing to «Monks Pond». He would later become a professor of English at the California State College, Hayward, and at the University of New Hampshire, Durham. Since his first published work before writing to Merton, he has published a number books of poetry. (Source: "Simic, Charles" Biography from World Authors 1970-1975. 1980. Online. Biography Reference Bank. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 3 May 2006. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)
Sr. Lois Marie Simmons was a Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary from Richmond, Virginia.
Dick Sisto is a jazz vibraphonist and is currently the music director of the Seelbach Bar at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. He shared an interest with Merton in Zen Buddhism and currently conducts meditation workshops. His wife, Penny Sisto, is a fabric artist who has created Merton-themed quilts.
Lydia Pasternak Slater was a research chemist from Russia who emigrated first to Germany and later to Great Britain after the Nazi rise to power. She wrote poetry and translated works of her brother, Boris Pasternak.
Fr. Gerard Stephen Sloyan was, at the time of writing to Merton, a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has written some texts on theology and morality.
Rev. Glenn Smiley was Associate Executive Secretary for the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Nyack, New York, at the time of writing. He was a pacifist, prominent in the Civil Rights Movement, and a friend of Martin Luther King, Jr.
E. Gene Smith writes from Seattle, Washington. He was a student of Dezhung Rinpoche, a Buddhist mystic residing in Seattle after exile from his native Tibet.
Susan Smith was a student at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri at the time of writing. Following Merton's correspondence with Barbara Ann Braveman, another member of the staff of the student publication «Free Lance» (also "Freelance"), Smith came to Gethsemani to interview Merton on March 30, 1968 with Sandy Meyer, and students named Sally and Mike (possibly Michael Castro?).
Gary Snyder was a poet associated with the Beat Generation in the San Francisco of the 1950's. He was the protagonist in Jack Kerouac's «The Dharma Bums». His writing interests have included ecology and the myths of Japan, China, and of the Native Americans. He knew Merton's poet friend, Cid Corman, and Merton's friend in publishing, James Laughlin. At this time, Snyder was spending some time in the Sierra Nevada mountains between living in Japan and studying Zen. (Source: "Snyder, Gary". Biography from Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Biography . 2000. Online. Biography Reference Bank. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 9 May 2006. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)
Gary A. Solbue was activities adviser for San Diego State College in California.
Luis Somoza Debayle was President of Nicaragua from 1956-1963. The eldest son of the former dictator, Anastasio Somoza Garcia, he was a nationalist and a supporter of some liberal social reforms. At the same time, he was anti-communist and supported the United States in their Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba. Somoza resided in the capital of Managua, Nicaragua.
R. W. Southern was a medievalist and professor from England teaching at Oxford University. Merton may have been familiar with his books, including «St Anselm and His Biographer» and «Western Views of Islam in the Middle Ages».
Dr. Benjamin Spock, the pediatrician who wrote the "Bible" of childrearing for the post-World War II generation, was also a peace activist. Beginning in 1962, he protested nuclear arms and waste. Later in the 1960's, he protested the Vietnam War. (Source: "Spock, Benjamin" Obituary from Current Biography. 1998. Online. Biography Reference Bank. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 23 May 2006. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)
Rafael Squirru was, at the time of writing, Director of Cultural Affairs for the Organization of American States (OAS). He was a poet and critic and founding Director of the Museum of Modern Art in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Charles Stanton writes from New York.
Br. Nivard Stanton is a monk of Gethsemani Abbey.
Dorothy Steere was married to Douglas Steere, Merton's friend, who was a peace advocate and Quaker. Dorothy helped in arranging retreats at Pendle Hill. She had met Martin Luther King, Jr., and was active in the Civil Rights Movement and peace movement. She wrote from Union Theological Seminary in New York. She and Douglas were Quaker Observer-Delegates for the Second Vatican Council.
Fr. Benjamin J. Stein was a Benedictine priest and long-time head librarian for St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Mother Mary Stephen was abbess of Christ the King Monastery in Delray Beach, Florida.
Robert Stock was a San Francisco poet who sends Merton a contribution for the fourth volume of «Monks Pond».
Sr. Judith Stoughton was art editor of «The New Catholic Encyclopedia» and writes from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Roger Straus was a publisher from Farrar, Straus and Giroux in New York.
Thelma Straw was headmistress of Saint Mary's Preparatory School for Girls at the Anglican convent of Saint Mary's-on-the-Mountain in Sewanee, Tennessee.
Dom Jean-Marie Struyven was a Trappist monk from Belgium and former superior of the Abbey of Our Lady of Consolation. The community was originally founded in the late 19th century in a remote area of China, north of the Great Wall. The community suffered persecution in 1947 and moved to Beijing. At this time, Struyven came to lead the community until he was expelled from China in 1953. He returned to the Abbey of Scourmont near Chimay, Belgium, and there he writes to Merton.
Jim Stuber writes from Brownsville, Texas for some spiritual advice. Later, he writes from Ford City, Pennsylvania, where he was spending time with his mother after his father's death.
John C. Sullivan writes from Leaside, Ontario, Canada.
Jean Sulzberger writes on behalf of Time-Life Books in New York and asks for a copy of Thomas Merton's literary magazine, Monks Pond.
Fr. Francis W. Sweeney was a Jesuit priest who was a writing and literature professor at Boston College from 1951-1998. Merton first came into contact with him after Sweeney sent him some poems during his seminary years at Weston College in the late 1940's. Sweeney later headed Boston College's Humanities Lecture Series. Merton and Sweeney corresponded intermittently throughout the rest of Merton's life.
Fr. Sylvester was a Trappist monk who went to Gethsemani's new foundation, the Monastery of the Holy Trinity, in Huntsville, Utah.
Tadashi Kudo writes while on retreat at a Trappist monastery in Hokkaido, Japan.
Br. Francis Taparra was a Trappist monk from the monastery on Lantao Island near Hong Kong.
Brenda Taylor was Speakers Chairman for the University of Oklahoma's Conference on Religion. She writes from Norman, Oklahoma.
Dame M. Teresa was a Benedictine nun of St. Scholastica Abbey in Teignmouth, Devon, England.
Sr. M. Teresa was Prioress of the Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Family in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Sr. Thérèse de l'Enfant Jesus et de l'Immaculée was a Carmelite nun from France.
Mother Mary Therese was superior of a Carmelite monastery in Plainfield, New Hampshire.
Fr. Thomas was a Trappist monk of the Abbey of the Genesee in Piffard, New York.
Mother Mary Thomas was of the Order of St. Clare and served as superior of the Monastery of St. Clare in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Erling A. Thunberg was Coordinating Director for the International Center for Integrative Studies (ICIS). He writes from New York.
Winifred Tjaden writes from London, England.
Sr. Mary Luke Tobin was former Superior General of the Sisters of Loretto. She writes from the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Kentucky. Sr. Mary Luke was the only American woman who served as an observer to the Second Vatican Council.
João Camilo de Oliveira Torres writes from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Gwynedd Fanny Merton Trier (Aunt Gwyn) was the oldest sister of Thomas Merton's father, Owen Merton. She married Erwin Julian Trier in 1915 and moved to England. At the time of writing to Merton in the 1960's, she was living in Fairlawn, West Horsley. Merton used to see her during his breaks from school while attending the nearby Ripley Court. (Source: «The Road to Joy», p. 78.)
Tashi Tshering was a student from University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. He was a Tibetan and sent Merton the book «Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa», edited by W. Y. Evans-Wentz. Tashi Tshering worked at University of Washington's Tibetan Research Project. He met Merton through a visit to Gethsemani in 1961 and later wrote a letter.
Raymond Tyner was editor of the «Green River Review» (originally to be entitled the «Kentucky Review» until duplicate title discovered). He writes from Owensboro, Kentucky.
Francisco Valle was a surrealist poet born in Nicaragua. He sends Merton an inscribed copy of one of his books.
Mrs. A. Van Horn writes from Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Fr. Venard was a Carmelite priest from a monastery in Austria.
Fr. P.M. Vidal, was a priest and member of the Third Order of Dominicans of the Couvent des Dominicaines de Béthanie at Saint-Morillon, Gironde, France.
Madeleine Viénot writes from Paris, France.
Fr. Joachim Viens was a Trappist monk of St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado.
Alejandro Vignati was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the time of writing to Merton, he was in Lima, Peru. He was a poet, critic and co-authored a Peruvian screenplay. He wrote a study on author Henry Miller as well.
Cintio Vitier is a poet, anthologist and literary critic from Havana, Cuba. His early poetry was influenced by the Spanish Nobel laureate Juan Ramón Jiménez. In the late 1950's and 1960's, the Cuban Revolution changed his style. Vitier later credited Merton with giving him spiritual and political guidance during the 1960's. (Source: «The Courage for Truth», p. 235.)
Vladimír Vyhlídka was was from Czechoslovakia. He studied for the priesthood in Rome, returned to Czechoslovakia, and later was made a monsignor. He died in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2011.
C. Anthony has served as president and a corporate director of a number of companies after beginning a career in advertising. He is also a board member of many charities. Having studied journalism in college, he continues to writes books, articles and recurring columns.
Fr. V. Walgrave was a Dominican priest from Ghent, Belgium. He often traveled to the United States to preach at retreats and was at the Dominican Motherhouse of St. Mary of the Springs in Columbus, Ohio, at the time of writing to Merton.
Gerald Walker writes from New York.
Susan E. Walker was secretary to Dr. J. Edward Dirks of Yale University Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut.
Richard J. Walsh was Director of Television for the National Council of Catholic Men in New York.
Fr. Walter was a Dominican priest from Australia.
E. I. Watkin was an Oxford-educated scholar, philosopher, prolific writer, linguist and translator who was proficient in French, Italian, Spanish and German. He was born a Protestant, moved to the Anglo-Catholics in his teenage years, and became Roman Catholic in 1908. He was concerned about the rise of secularism, but believed in taking Catholicism beyond its surface teachings to profound philosophical and mystical ends. He sometimes ran into trouble with church authority in his approach.
Fr. Joseph Raymond Watt was a former monk of Gethsemani Abbey under the religious name of Fr. Marion during the 1950's. At some point he left the monastery for parish life and spent many years in the Monterey Diocese in California. After he died, he was cremated and his ashes were returned to Gethsemani Abbey. (Source: "The Rev. Joseph Watt". Obituaries section of the Santa Cruz Sentinal Online. 16 Aug. 2002. Accessed 31 Aug. 2006 at the Bellarmine University Library. ‹http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2002/August/16/obit/obit.htm›.)
Dorothy Wayman was a journalist and author. Born in California, she came east for her higher education, graduating from the Boston School of Social Work in 1914. After travel to Japan, which became the subject of a book under the pseudonym Theodate Geoffrey, she returned to the Boston area. While corresponding with Merton she was a staff reporter for the «Boston Globe». (Source: "The American Catholic Who's Who." Volume 14: 1960-61. Grosse Pointe, MI: Walter Romig Publisher; p. 471.)
Rembert Weakland was a Benedictine monk and former Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation, starting his first term in 1967, the year before meeting Merton in Thailand. He served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977-2002.
Portia Webster was a postulant for Redwoods Monastery in California when Merton met her during his travels on the west coast. At the time, she was working at a JC Penney store in San Francisco. She was one of the people to help show him around San Francisco in his last days before leaving for Asia. She now lives as a lay hermit artist at a monastery in Arizona.
Ron Webster writes from Spokane, Washington.
Frances "Tootie" Wesselmann was married to Robert G. Wesselmann.
Fred D. Wieck was an editor from Harper and Row in New York.
John Wilkins was an editor who writes first from the magazine «Frontier» and then from the Catholic magazine, «The Tablet» of London, England.
Thomas Williams was formerly a novice of Gethsemani. Merton writes to him in 1964, after he had recently left the monastery.