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Linda Parsons, born Miroslav Prozak (also spelled Miroslava Projak), was a Catholic convert in her thirties who underwent powerful ecstasies of religious experience. Parsons and Martha Crampton of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, organized the R. M. Bucke Memorial Society for the study of religious experience. She began a correspondence with Merton, and, after his death, founded a Thomas Merton Retreat Center at Lake Magog, near the Benedictine monastery of St. Benoît du Lac. Later, she married Peter Sabbath who became the retreat center's director, which later moved to Montreal. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», p. 516.)

E. Allison Peers was professor at the Institute of Hispanic Studies at the University of Liverpool in England. Peers had published translations of the works of Spanish mystics including St. John of the Cross. Merton asked in a letter from July 30, 1948 about quoting from «The Ascent of Mount Carmel» and of publishing the «Dark Night» [of the Soul].

Dom Basílio Penido was Abbot of the Benedictine community of São Bento de Olinda in Recife, Brazil. He wrote some prefaces for Portuguese versions of Merton's books released in Brazil.

Dom Jean Baptiste Porion was a French Carthusian monk of Le Grande Chartreuse, who later served as Procurator General for the Carthusians in Rome, Italy.

Fr. Alexius T. Portz was the founding director of the St. John's University Institude for Mental Health in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Fr. Neil Predovich was a Jesuit priest and Director of Novices for the Detroit province. He writes from Colombiere College in Clarkston, Michigan. He wrote a small book called «The Changing Religious», which he sends to Merton.

Rod Prince writes from «Peace News» from London, England.

Sr. Prisca was a Benedictine nun of Regina Laudis Abbey in Bethlehem, Connecticut, but was not bound to the enclosure at the time of writing. She and another sister visited the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community in New Gloucester, Maine.

Adele Pullman writes from Mayfield, Pennsylvania.

Georg Rapp was one of the directors of Rapp and Whiting publishers of London, England.

Anna T. Reidy writes from Worcester, Massachusetts.

Molly Rhodes writes from Buckingham, England.

Sr. Jane Marie Richardson was a Sister of Loretto. She accompanied another friend and correspondence of Merton, Sr. Mary Luke Tobin, at the Second Vatican Council. She participated in some of the conferences Merton gave to the neighboring Loretto community, and she has edited a book transcribed from these same lectures under the title Springs of Contemplation.

Edna Richman writes from Kentucky. She had a book that she hoped Merton could get published. He makes some recommendations to her.

Fr. Robert was a Trappist priest from the Abbaye Sainte Marie du Désert in Bellegarde, France.

Fr. Robert was a Trappist priest from Our Lady of the Genesee Abbey in Piffard, New York.

Born in Le Havre, France, Archbishop Thomas Roberts was a Jesuit and the former archbishop of Bombay, India. He was in London, England, at the time of writing to Merton.

Anne Robertson writes from the magazine, «The Commonweal», in New York.

Fr. Vernon Robertson was a priest of the Louisville Archdiocese in Kentucky. He converted to Roman Catholicism, having been an Episcopalian. He thanks Merton for celebrating a Mass for him on the occasion of his ordination to the priesthood after finishing studies at the Pontifico Collegio Beda in Rome. Robertson was ordained at the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican in the presence of Pope Paul VI. Robertson went on to become a social justice advocate in Louisville. He was concerned about poverty and education in the inner city. He founded Montessori schools in the city and helped to revitalize some declining churches in Louisville's downtown, including his long-time parish of St. Martin of Tours. He also helped found the city's first residence for people living with AIDS. (Source: Cahill, Elizabeth Kirkland. "Vernon Robertson is in heaven - late priest remembered." «The Commonweal». 17 July 1998. Online from Findarticles.com. Accessed 23 Feb. 2006. ‹http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_n13_v125/ai_20968211›.)

Violet Robertson writes from the Jesuit Missions in New York.

Louise Rocke writes from East Hampton, New York.

Susan Rogers was a senior in high school at Lacordaire Academy in Montclaire, New Jersey. She writes in praise of Merton's article, "Can We Survive Nihilism?"

Sr. Rosaire of Christ was a Carmelite nun from Waterbeach, Cambridge.

Sr. Rose-Marie was a Dominican nun and Prioress of the monastery of Notre-Dame du Rosaire in Berthierville, Quebec, Canada. She was president of the Organisme des Moniales (the Monastic Organization).

Sr. M. Rosita was a Marianite of the Holy Cross from Our Lady of Holy Cross College in New Orleans, Louisiana. She asks Merton's help in how to respond to the questions of her 20 year old cousin who has some theological questions that she cannot answer.

Theodore Roszak writes from London, England, as the editor of «Peace News».

Gerald P. Roucoulet was a college seminarian in his early twenties studying for the diocesan priesthood at Christ the King Seminary in St. Bonaventure, New York. He was considering the monastic life and asks for Merton's advice.

Fr. Richard W. Rousseau was a Jesuit priest and associate professor of theology at Fairfield University in Connecticut.

Paul Rowland was a retired English professor living in Maryville, Tennessee. He was interested in some of Merton's essays on Boris Pasternak.

Gail Rubin was assistant to Robert MacGregor, publisher at New Directions.

Abbot Leo Rudloff was a Benedictine monk and superior of Weston Priory in Vermont. He invites Merton to come to Weston to speak to the community.

John Rusnak writes from Chicago, Illinois.

Ota Lee Russell was from the Section on Stewardship and Benevolence from the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. She writes from New York.

Br. James Ryan was a choir monk in simple vows at Our Lady of the Genesee Abbey in Piffard, New York, at the time of writing to Merton.

Mouni Sadhu, born in Poland as Mieczyslaw Demetriusz Sudowski. Although he published a number of books, the details of his life are sketchy. He was known variously as an occultist and a practicing Catholic to his death and a bridge-builder between Christian and Hindu traditions. As a young man, he fought for Germany during World War I. He married in 1936, but his wife was said to have died in a German bombing of Poland in 1939. He fought against the Germans in World War II, was captured and imprisoned until liberated by the Allies in 1945. He then went first to France and after another year to Brazil. There, he wrote his first book (in Portuguese), «Quem Sou Eu?». Thence, he spent a year studying under Sri Ramana Maharshi before permanently residing in Australia. He writes to Merton from Box Hill, Victoria, Australia, asking Merton to write a Foreword for a planned book, «Contemplation: an Outline for Practical Study» (published under the title «Meditation: an Outline for Practical Study«). (Source: Pugsley, Tim. "Mouni Sadhu - Information." Website. Accessed 2006/03/15. ‹http://www.mounisadhu.com›.)

The Rev. Dr. Howard Schomer was a Congregationalist minister and President of Chicago Theological Seminary. He was a Delegated Observer of the Second Vatican Council, representing the International Congregational Council. He was an anti-war activist and took part in some of the Civil Rights Movement's demonstrations with Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mother M. L. Schroen was a Religious of the Sacred Heart of Manhattanville and writes from the General Headquarters in Rome, Italy.

The Rev. John Whitman Sears was a psychologist and Universalist minister. He was born in Lawrence, Kansas, but moved with his family to California. He returned to the University of Kansas for college and was afterward ordained a minister. His ministry led him to North Carolina and back to Kansas where he left the ministry for social work. During the Great Depression, he moved with his family to San Carlos, California, studying psychology. He later moved to San Mateo where he joined his brother in a business of counseling and psychology, and from there he writes to Merton. (Source: "In Memoriam: Unitarian Universalist Ministers 2000-2001." Website of the Unitarian Universalist Association. Accessed 21 April 2006. ‹http://www.uua.org/programs/ministry/news/obituaries2001.html›.)

Robert D. Sharp served in a number of missions in the military in the Second World War. He sends his mission card to Merton, detailing 35 missions from 1944-1945. He read Merton's letter in the April 2, 1965 issue of «Commonweal» and said that he "wept over the part I played in that war."

In 1962, Dan Shay was a 34-year-old carpenter's apprentice, a member of a number of Catholic organizations, and a conscientious objector from St. Louis, Missouri.

Richard E. Sherrell was Managing Editor of «The Christian Scholar», a publication of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Paul K. T. Sih was an author of histories of China and translator of Chinese classics. Sih was born near Shanghai, China. Nominally a Buddhist from a family that did not stress religion, he was exposed to Christianity through earning a doctorate in Rome, Italy, and though a Chinese government position in Rome. Through this job, he met Merton's friend John C. H. Wu, who was Chinese ambassador to the Vatican. Wu, having bridged connections between Christianity and Taoism, was a factor in Sih's conversion to Catholicism. In 1959, Sih became a professor of history and Director of the Center for Asian Studies at St. John's University in New York. It was here he began his correspondence with Merton. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», pp. 548-549.)

Clara Silva was a poet who sends Merton an incribed copy of her book.

Andrew Sinclair was from Lorrimer Publishing Limited in London, England.

Fr. Baldwin Skeehan took over from Thomas Merton as novice master at Gethsemani Abbey after Merton retired to his hermitage in 1965. He served as novice master until 1968 and was later Prior of Gethsemani. He would later leave monastic life.

Irene Skolnick was Managing Editor of «The Hudson Review» in New York at the time of correspondence with Merton.

John H. Slate was a classmate of Merton's at Columbia University. He was a lawyer with the firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom in New York, and specialized in aviation law. In addition, he contributed humorous pieces to «Fortune», «The Atlantic Monthly», and «The Saturday Evening Post». Merton had heard reports about Slate from other Columbia alumni friends, but had not been in direct contact for many years. Slate died of a heart attack later in that same year they were in contact concerning the literary estate.

William Milligan Sloane was a publisher (William Sloane Associates) writing from New York. He also was an author of mysteries and science fiction.

Anne Smith was married to another Merton correspondent, Carleton Smith. She sends Merton some photographs taken by her husband.

Catherine Smith writes from Escanaba, Michigan. She seems to have been an artist working in a variety of media, including pottery, sculpture and fabrics. She seems to have met or known Merton's friend Sr. Thérèse Lentfoehr, who tells Merton of seeing Smith in Escanaba.

Grover Cleveland Smith writes from Durham, North Carolina. At the time, he was an English professor at Duke University.

Fr. Thomas Fidelis Smith was a Trappist monk of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia.

Sociologist and economist Dallas Walker Smythe was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and moved to the United States in 1918. He was a life-long pacifist. In the late 1930's, he became a civil servant in Washington, D.C. In 1948, he joined the new Institute of Communications Research at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It is from here, he writes to Merton and Merton responds. (Source: Gourlie, Michael; Caitlin Webster; Frances Fournier; and Enid Britt. "Dallas Smythe fonds". Jan. 1998. Website of Simon Fraser University Archives. Accessed, 9 May 2006: Bellarmine University Library. ‹http://www.sfu.ca/archives/F-16/F-16fonds.html›.)

The Rev. Eric Snyder was associate secretary for the Division of Community Services of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. He writes from New York.

Ambassador Soedjatmoko writes from the Embassy of Indonesia in Washington, D.C. Raden Soedjatmoko Saleh Mangoediningrat went also by the nickname "Mas Koko" or simply "Koko". By the end of their five hour meeting in Washington, D.C., the two men referred to each other as Tom and Koko.

Justin Soleta was assistant editor for the National Catholic weekly, «Ave Maria», published by the Holy Cross Fathers of Notre Dame, Indiana.

Muriel Soundry was editor at Hawthorn Books of New York.

Stephen J. Spiro was a conscientious objector who was drafted for the Vietnam War. He continues to help those who chose to resist the draft and to work for peace in the Fellowship of Reconciliation. He writes to Merton from Bogotá, New Jersey.

Br. Wilfrid Spratti was a Trappist monk of Gethsemani Abbey.

Frank Steele was editor of «Tennessee Poetry Journal». Steele writes from Martin, Tennessee, asking for a contribution from Merton. Merton's "A Round and a Hope for Smithgirls" appeared in the second issue of «Tennessee Poetry Journal» in 1968:1 (winter).

Douglas Steere was a prominent Quaker author and philosopher, serving a long tenure as professor at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He demonstrated leadership through organizing relief efforts in northern Europe through the American Friends Service Committee after World War II and in representing the Society of Friends at the Second Vatican Council in 1964. He first met Merton in 1962 at Gethsemani, traveling with John Heidbrink of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. (Source: Elliott, J. Michael. "Douglas Steere, 93, Author, Professor And Quaker Leader." «New York Times» obituary. 16 February 1995. Online. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 2009/07/07. ‹http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/16/obituaries/douglas-steere-93-author-professor-and-quaker-leader.html›.)

Fr. Edmund J. Stumpf was a Jesuit priest writing from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

Leo Jozef Cardinal Suenens was Archbishop of Mechelen, Belgium, and one of the principle architects of much of the work of the Second Vatican Council.

Oona Sullivan writes on behalf of «Jubilee» magazine from New York.

Warren Sullivan was Chairman of the Board of the Macmillan Company Publishers. He writes from New York.

Leo Szilard was a Hungarian-born scientist who, along with Enrico Fermi in 1955, was awarded a patent for a nuclear fission reactor. In 1942, along with Fermi, he conducted the first controlled nuclear chain reaction. He coordinated the letter from Einstein which was sent to President Roosevelt that led to the commencement of the Manhattan Project. After the Second World War, he became involved in the movement to limit nuclear arms, give control to the civilian populace, and to prevent nuclear war. He also shifted from nuclear physics and engineering to molecular biology. (Source: "Hall of Fame: Inventor's Profile - Leo Szilard." Website of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. 2002. Accessed 20 June 2006. Bellarmine University Library. ‹http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/141.html›.)

C. H. Talbot was a scholar from the Warburg Institute of London, England. He had written about medieval figures, such as Bernard of Clairvaux and William of York.

Roslyn Targ writes from New York.

William Targ writes from New York.

Manuel Tarín Iglesias writes on behalf of the Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión in Barcelona, Spain.

Lawrence X. Tarpey, Sr. writes from Lexington, Kentucky.

The Rev. Francis C. Tatem, Jr. was Associate Rector for Religious Education at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Rochester, New York.

Sr. Teresa Marie was a Maryknoll sister from Maryknoll, New York.

Sr. Teresa was a Carmelite nun and prioress of a monastery in Norwich, England.

Sr. Teresita of the Child Jesus was a Carmelite nun from New York.

Fr. Kenneth R. Terry was a priest of the Order of the Holy Cross of the Episcopal Church. At the time of writing, he was Master of Postulants. He writes from West Park, New York.

Leon Driskell was in the Department of English faculty at University of Louisville.