Thomas W. Leavitt was Director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and asks Merton about displaying some of his art in Santa Barbara.
Paris Leary writes from New Paltz, New York. The two letters are listed as from Paris Leary and Robert Kelly, editors at Doubleday, but are signed exclusively by Paris Leary.
Fr. John Leary was a Jesuit priest and President of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
Richard C. Leach was President of Argus Communications in Chicago, Illinois. He asks Merton to write a homily for Easter to be included in a series written and recorded by a number of prominent Christian names from various denominations. His sermon was later published separately as the book He Is Risen.
Dom Louis de Gonzague Le Pennuen was a Trappist monk who became Abbot of Our Lady of Melleray in France from 1949-1958. Melleray is the motherhouse of Gethsemani Abbey, so the abbot of this monastery was important in decisions affecting Merton. Le Pennuen was replaced by Dom Colomban Bissey.
Martha Lazure writes on behalf of Raymond H. Prince (see "Prince, Raymond" file) for permission to quote from Merton's May 22, 1965 letter to Dr. Prince for the newsletter of the R. M. Bucke Memorial Society. She writes from Montreal, Quebec.
Mario Lazo writes from Norfolk, Connecticut. He was working on a book concerning the instruction of Latin American history in public schools in the United States. He would later quote Merton in his book on Cuba, «A Dagger in the Heart».
Robert Lax was a minimalist poet and Merton's closest friend from his Columbia University days. Bob Lax was born in Olean, New York, into a Jewish family. His family later moved to New York. At Columbia, he met Merton through mutual involvement in the university's humorous magazine, «The Columbia Jester». Lax's spirituality influenced Merton's acceptance of religion and conversion to Catholicism in 1938, Lax having later been influenced by Merton and converting to Catholicism in 1943. The two friends stayed in contact after graduating from Columbia and spent time together with Ed Rice at a cottage in Olean after Merton finished his Masters degree in 1939. Lax attended Merton's ordination to the priesthood in 1949. Lax wrote for and edited such magazines as «Pax» and «Jubilee» and was on staff at «The New Yorker». In 1962, he went into self-imposed exile from the United States and lived much of his life until his later years on the Greek islands of Patmos, Lesvos and Kalymnos. He returned to Olean, New York, in the summer of 2000, where he died in his sleep on September 26. (Sources: «The Road to Joy», p. 142; and The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia, p. 249.)
Sr. Penelope Lawson was from the Anglican Community of St. Mary the Virgin in Wantage, England. She spent most of her time there as librarian at St. Mary's Convent and authored a number of books. She is also well-known for translations of early and medieval Christian writers. It was through translation of writings of Isaac of Stella that she was first in contact with Merton. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», pp. 477-478.)
Sr. Marie Lawrence was a Religious Sister of Mercy from Albany, New York.
John Lawrence was Editor of «Frontier», a literary journal from London.
Justus George Lawler was an editor with Herder and Herder. He lived near Chicago and edited the journal «Continuum». He has since written books on Church history, ethics, and Catholic literature and art.
Hernán Lavín Cerda is a poet who was born in Chile in 1939. Merton first contacts him in 1965, regarding some help he sought in regard to the translation of some poems. Lavín Cerda had to flee Chile after the military coup of 1973 and settled in Mexico City as a professor. He continued to write poetry and published a number of volumes. (Source: «The Courage for Truth», p. 204.)
Maurice Lavanoux was an architect with Gustave E. Steinback in New York and Maginnis and Walsh in Boston. He founded the Liturgical Arts Society in 1928 and was editor of «Liturgical Arts» from 1931 to 1972.
Fr. Benedict Lauvant was a Dominican priest writing from Toulouse, France.
Lou Lauth, Jr. was Editor of the «Blue Book of Magazine Writers» and worked for the National Research Bureau, Inc., Chicago, Illinois.
Sr. Mary Laurence writes from Holy Cross Abbey in the United Kingdom.
James Laughlin and Merton first came to known each other through Merton's former professor at Columbia University, poet Mark Van Doren. Van Doren recommended some of Merton's poems to Laughlin for his publishing house, New Directions. These poems became Merton's first published book, Thirty Poems. Laughlin, having been born into a wealthy steel-producing family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, decided he would rather enter the literary world. He attended Harvard and, during his years there, went to Europe and met Ezra Pound, who encouraged Laughlin to get into publishing. While still a student at Harvard, Laughlin began New Directions in Norfolk, Connecticut, publishing a young generation of modern poets. Through correspondence and visits to Gethsemani, Merton and Laughlin forged an intimate friendship, entrusting Laughlin with some of his most private confidences.
Irving Laucks writes from Santa Barbara, California.
Pasteur Jean Lasserre was a traveling secretary of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and worked with Jean Goss (see the "Goss-Mayr, Hildegard" file). He writes from Lyon, France. In France, IFOR was called the Mouvement International de la Réconciliation (MIR). He was the author of a number of books on a Christian responsibility for peace and non-violence.
The poet and Catholic convert born Raymond Edward Francis Larsson would write under the pen name Raymond Ellsworth Larsson.
Archbishop (later elevated to Cardinal) Arcadio Larraona was a head of the Sacred Congregation for Religious at the Vatican. He wrote the prologue to the Italian translation of «The Ascent to Truth».
Fr. Ernest Larkin was a Carmelite priest from Whitefirars Hall in Washington, D.C.
Rogelius Lardé was writing on behalf of «The Second Coming» magazine and writes from New York, declining two of Merton's poems.
Joseph Jean Lanza del Vasto was a Christian disciple of Gandhi who founded the Ark communities (Communautés de l'Arche) in France in the 1940's. They were committed to peace, non-violence and living a self-sustaining lifestyle that was not damaging to the environment or exploitative of other people.
Chanterelle Lanza del Vasto was the wife of Joseph Jean Lanza del Vasto, the founder of the Communautés de l'Arche in France.
Sarah Lansdell was an art critic for the Louisville Courier Journal. She wrote an article in November of 1964 concerning the drawings Merton was exhibiting at Spalding College.
Erik Langkjaer was an editor in the Religious Literature department for Charles Scribner's Sons publishers.
Warren Lang was a doctoral student in the English Department at Indiana University at this time. He sent some poems to Merton, some of which appeared in «Monks Pond».
Alfred H. Lane was Head of the Gift and Exchange office of Columbia University in New York.
Kathleen Landy was writing on behalf of the Bureau of Information of the United States Catholic Conference in Washington, D.C.
Lionel Landry was Director of the Asia Society, a group found in 1956 to promote intercultural dialog between Asia and the United States. Landry writes from New York.
Gerald Landry was living in Glen Garden, New Jersey, at the time of Merton's letter to him.
Aloys Landes was Director of Development for Catherine Spalding College in Louisville, Kentucky.
Fr. Gregory Lambing (at that time Br. Gregory) was a monk of Gethsemani Abbey.
Fr. Lambert was a Carmelite priest at St. Joseph's Pontifical Seminary-Carmelgiri in Alwaye, India.
Mr. Lamb seems to have been a curator with the Sterling Galleries in Palo Alto, California, where Merton hoped to exhibit some of his drawings.
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.