Dom Oliver Rousseau was a Benedictine monk of the monastery of Chevetogne in Belgium. He and others from Chevetogne were deeply involved in the early stages of the liturgical reform movement. Though their quarterly review «Irénikon», Chevetogne also… Read more
Dimitri Roussopoulos was editor-in-chief of «Our Generation against Nuclear War», described on the letterhead as: "A new quarterly journal devoted to the research, theory and review of the problems of world peace and directed toward presenting… Read more
Rosemary Radford Ruether was a theologian and feminist writer who was born in Minnesota. She received her doctorate in religion in 1965 at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She remained there on faculty until 1976. Later, she was on faculty of… Read more
Elsie M. Ryan was from Blenheim, New Zealand.
Archbishop Joseph T. Ryan began his tenure in the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska, in 1966. He writes to Merton from Alaska. He later served as archbishop of the United States Military.
Servando Sacaluga was a professor writing from New York who introduced Merton to the poems of Mercedes Cortázar.
Serge St. Jean writes from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to an unknown religious sister (Merton is mentioned in the letter).
Edward R. Sammis writes on behalf of Harper and Row, Publishers, New York.
Miguel de Sanmiguel was chief editor of Ediciones Guadarrama publishers in Madrid, Spain.
George L. Saunders, Jr. was co-director of the Law Enforcement Task Force of the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence in Washington, D.C.
Sr. Anne Saword was a Trappistine nun from Chimay, Belgium.
Br. Aloysius Scanlan was a Cistercian monk writing from Caldey Abbey in the south of Wales.
Fr. Mario Schierano writes to Merton from the Sacra Paenitentiaria Apostolica, Officium de Indulgentiis, in Italy. It seems to be granting Merton some sort of indulgence. Schierano was a priest of Turin, Italy, who in 1971 became the archbishop of Italy's military.
William G. Schlecht writes from the Washington Friends of Buddhism in Washington, D.C.
Bruno P. Schlesinger was a professor at St. Mary's College in Indiana. Born in Austria, Schlesinger was a Jewish convert to Catholicism who came to Indiana in the late 1930's and earned a doctorate from Notre Dame. He began at Saint Mary's in 1945.… Read more
Mary Ann Schmidt was a typist for Merton living in Washington, D.C.
It is unclear from the correspondence, but it seems Emily Schossberger may have worked for the publishing firm of New Directions.
Webster Schott was Editorial Director of Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missouri.
James Schulte was a senior at Saint Louis University at the time of correspondence with Merton. He writes from St. Louis, Missouri.
Clarence W. Schultz worked at the News Publishing Company of Tell City, Indiana.
David H. Scott was Religious Book Editor of the Trade Book Department of McGraw-Hill Book Company. He writes from New York.
Sr. Helen Jean Seidel was the Mistress of Novices for the Sisters of Loretto at their motherhouse in Nerinx, Kentucky, at the time of writing.
Fr. Léon Seiller writes from France.
David R. Semon was a 27-year-old college sophomore at Borromeo Seminary in Wickliffe, Ohio.
Fr. Brocard Sewell (baptized Michael Sewell - Brocard being his religious name) was a Carmelite friar and editor of «The Aylesford Review» at his home at Aylesford Priory in Kent, England. Though born into an Anglican family, his father was involved in… Read more
H. J. Shandrewsmith writes from Pittsburgh. He sends poems to Merton by Oscar Gibson, his brother-in-law.
Wilfred Sheed was Book Review Editor for «The Commonweal» and writes from New York. He was the son of Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward (Sheed and Ward publishers). He developed a style of prose influenced by his trans-Atlantic upbringing, born in London and… Read more
Jane M. Sheets writes from Princeton, New Jersey and later from Haverford, Pennsylvania. She did a study of Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa and thanks Merton for his translations and commentary on Pessoa.
Maynard Shelly was editor of «The Mennonite», the weekly publication of the General Conference Mennonite Church. He published Merton's poem, "Chant to Be Used in Processions around a Site with Furnaces," in the November 21, 1961 issue of «The Mennonite».… Read more
Fr. James Shine was from a monastery (Camaldolese?) at New Boston, New Hampshire.
Ludovico Silva was a poet, philosopher, essayist, literary critic, and professor at the Universidad Central in Caracas, Venezuela. He authored over thirty books and was one of the founders of the magazine «Papeles». In the 1970's and 1980's, his writing… Read more
Elbert R. (Bert) Sisson writes from Bryans Road, Maryland. After retiring from active duty in the army in 1945, he worked for the federal government until 1972. He was a political activist and liberal democrat, once running for public office in 1974, but… Read more
Edward Skillin was the long-time editor of the Catholic magazine, «The Commonweal», and wrote to Merton from New York. In 1967, he shifted from sole editor to publisher, a position he held until his retirement in 1998.
Charles Smith was Chairman of Chicago CORE and writes from Chicago, Illinois.
Fr. Philip M. Solem was assistant pastor at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Parish in Duluth, Minnesota. He was 28 at this time.
Dom Gabriel Sortais was Abbot General of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) from 1951-1963.
Eloise Spaeth was a patroness of the arts from New York. She was major force in convincing the Smithsonian Institution to open its Archives of American Art and was a promoter of Guild Hall in East Hampton. (Source: "SPAETH, ELOISE O'MARA". New York Times… Read more
Robert Speaight was a British actor and biographer of Eric Gill and Hilaire Belloc.
Francis Cardinal Spellman was Archbishop of New York.
Stephen Spender was a British poet, critic and essayist. He was part of the "Oxford poets" movement. His circle included W. H. Auden, Isaiah Berlin, Louis MacNiece, Bernard Spencer, Christopher Isherwood, and C. Day Lewis. At the time of writing, he was… Read more
John Stanley was a former novice at Gethsemani Abbey. He worked for a number of years with Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement. He was a friend of another ex-novice from Gethsemani and fellow Catholic Worker, Robert Steed.
Fr. Philip Stark was a Jesuit priest from St. Louis, Missouri.
Fr. Joseph Starmann writes from St. Peter Cathedral in Jefferson City, Missouri. He was a diocesan priest who, with some clergy and lay people of other Christian denominations, founded an ecumenical community based loosely on the Rule of St. Benedict at… Read more
Walter Stein writes from Ilkley, England.
James Storrow was publisher of «The Nation» magazine and writes from New York.
Fr. Henri van Straelen, S.V.D. was a priest of the Society of the Divine Word and a professor of philosophy who spent much of his life as a missionary and scholar in Japan. He was a peritus to the Second Vatican Council.
Dieter Struß writes from Gütersloh, Germany, on behalf of the publisher Sigbert Mohn Verlag.
Aleksei Surkov was a poet from the U.S.S.R. and the General Secretary of the Soviet Writers' Union.
John M. Swomley was editor of «Current Issues», published by the peace and social justice group, The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) of Nyack, New York.
Mother Sylvia Marie was Superior of the Little Sisters of the Poor of Louisville, Kentucky.
Note that Rev. Theodore Nelson (Ted) Tatman later in life legally changed his name to Theodore N. McGill.
Tomas Tebé was an editor from Editorial Selecta in Barcelona, Spain.
Fr. Teresius was a Carmelite priest from Mexico City, Mexico.
At the time of writing, John Appleton was Senior Editor of «The Saturday Evening Post».
Abdol Reza Arasteh was born in Shiraz, Iran, in 1927. He had studied both Eastern and Western psychology and seemed to bridge Merton's earlier interest in psychology with his later interest in Sufism, Zen and other eastern traditions. He lived a number… Read more
Evora Arca de Sardiña was born in Cuba, attended high school in New York, and returned to Cuba in 1950. In Cuba, she was involved in social work the poor. When Castro came to power in 1959, she fled to the United States with her husband and her five sons… Read more
Rubén Astudillo is writing from Ecuador on behalf of the publication «El Mercurio».
David Aud is writing as a member of the Student Senate at St. Bonaventure University and is the son of Jim Aud, who was an English student of Merton's in the 1940's.
Stefan Baciu was a poet and professor of romance languages whose works include surveys of Latin American surrealistic poetry and themes of communism in poetry. He was editor of the literary magazine, «MELE». During his time of correspondence with Merton,… Read more
Roger Barnard is writing as Features Editor for the publication «Peace News» from London.
Robert Batastini is writing as Vice-President of the Gregorian Institute of America in Chicago, Illinois.
The Rev. Harvey Bates was Co-Chaplain for the United Campus Christian Fellowship at Syracuse University in New York.
John Beecher was a poet whose works often expressed social concerns such as civil rights, non-violence, and workers' rights. During the 1960's, his work on the publication «Ramparts» got him dubbed a "Communist" by Governor George Wallace of Alabama,… Read more
Teris Benaudes is writing from Lima, Peru.
Daniel Berrigan was a Catholic priest, social activist, and poet who entered the Society of Jesus (1939), was ordained (1952), and after studying in France (where he was influenced by the worker-priest movement), he taught at Catholic schools until… Read more
Yolanda Bettencourt writes from the editorial department of the publishing house Livaria Agir Editors in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Mary Childs Black was, at time of writing, Director of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection in Williamsburg, Virginia. (See also the Finding Aid to the Mary Black Papers at the Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library [http://findingaid.winterthur.org/html/col538.html]).
"Carmen Blumenkron is a product of two cultures: American and Mexican, though her heritage is "Long Island Yankee," Irish, German and Spanish. Born in Manhattan, she grew up in Mexico City, where she now lives, spending her free time at her country home… Read more
Fred Bond is writing on behalf of the Louisville Art Workshop.
Fr. Gregorio Botte was a Franciscan writing from Mount Alvernia Seminary in Wappinger Falls, New York.
Daniel Bouchez was a professor at the seminary of Holy Ghost College in Seoul, South Korea.
Nina Bourne was writing on behalf of the publishing house of Simon and Schuster.
Mrs. R. M. Bowman writes from Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Barbara Ann Braveman was Assistant Editor for «Freelance» in Clayton (St. Louis), Missouri, at the time of writing.
Dick Britton writes from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Raphael Brown (Beverly Holladay Brown) was born in New York and spent most of his career as a reference librarian with the Library of Congress, retiring in 1967. He was a member of a secular order of Franciscans and wrote and translated over a dozen… Read more
Russ Brown was at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario at the time of writing to Merton.
Dame Marcella van Bruyn was a Benedictine nun of Stanbrook Abbey in England. Entering the community in her forties, she spent twenty-three years in community before leaving to pursue a life of solitude. (Source: «The School of Charity», p. 160.)
Genovefa Brzatynska is writing from Cracow, Poland.
