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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 the Oxford Movement and Sewell became a Catholic while still a youth. Throughout his life, he maintained an interest in Anglican-Catholic dialogue. While a young man, he became involved with G. K. Chesterton's distributist movement and «G. K.'s Weekly». Similar to Merton and the Franciscans, Sewell was rejected from the Dominicans. Also like Merton, he attempted joining a contemplative order. His first attempt to enter the Carmelites failed in 1937. Though he was a pacifist, or essentially so, he served as a map specialist during the Second World War for the British. In 1952, he applied for entry with the Carmelites at Aylesford and was, this time, allowed to join. It is from Aylesford that Sewell writes Merton. Merton contributed to «The Aylesford Review». Sewell would later live in various other Carmelite monasteries. (Source: McGreal, Wilfred. "Obituary of Fr. Brocard Sewell, 0.Carm." Website of the British Province of Carmelites. Accessed 2006 April 24. ‹http://www.carmelite.org/obit/bs_obituary.html›.)

Fr. Dismas Sexton was a Franciscan writing first from the novitiate and later from Saint Joseph Seminary in Teutopolis, Illinois.

H. J. Shandrewsmith writes from Pittsburgh. He sends poems to Merton by Oscar Gibson, his brother-in-law.

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."

Clifford Shaw was a composer living in Louisville, Kentucky. He discussed setting some of Thomas Merton's poems to music.

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.

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›.)

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 spending much time in New York. After work at such Catholic publications as «The Commonweal» and «Jubilee», he became an essayist, novelist and short story writer. (Source: "Sheed, Wilfrid" 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.

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.

Lawrence Joseph Cardinal Shehan was Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland.

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». Maynard visited Merton at Gethsemani in August of 1962 and wrote an editorial in «The Mennonite» about his visit.

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.

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.

Francis Shih-hao Shieh was an assistant professor at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Fr. James Shine was from a monastery (Camaldolese?) at New Boston, New Hampshire.

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.

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.)

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.

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

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 turned to ideas of alienation, socialism, and Marxism. It was Silva who asked Merton about a typical day at the hermitage which prompted Merton to write one of his most famous pieces, "Day of a Stranger". Merton also wrote a prologue for Silva's poem and book, «Boom!!!». (Source: «The Courage for Truth», p. 223.)

Sr. Emmanuel de Souza e Silva was a Brazilian nun of the monastery of the Virgin Mary in Petropolis (whose order joined with the Benedictines during their correspondence) and long-time translator of Merton's works into Portuguese. Although born in Brazil, she had spent some of her academic studies in England and France. She was also a social worker in her home of Rio de Janeiro before religious life. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», p. 181.)

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.

John N. Sims was a professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and chairman of the Faculty Retreat Committee.

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

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 withdrawing when his wife took ill. He was opposed to the Vietnam War and wrote a book under the pen name Rory McCormick, entitled «Americans against Man» (New York and Cleveland: Corpus Books, 1970). (Source: Sisson, Maura A. Obituary of Elbert Sisson. Genealogical website. Accessed 3 May 2006. ‹http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~dasisson/richard/aqwg203.htm›.)

The Sisters of Loretto are a Catholic community of religious sisters based in Nerinx, Kentucky, near to the Abbey of Gethsemani. Thomas Merton had many close contacts among the sisters including Sr. Mary Luke Tobin.

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.

Fr. Jean-François Six was a priest from Paris, France.

Br. John Lyons was a Salvatorian writing first from Mount St. Paul College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and later from New Holstein, Wisconsin.

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.

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.

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.

Mary Ellen Slate was married to Merton's Columbia classmate, John Slate.

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.

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

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.

Nancy Smiler was an editorial assistant at Bantam Books in New York.

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.

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

Carleton Smith was a close friend of Cardinal Koenig, Archbishop of Vienna and head of the Secretariat for Non-Believers. The cardinal made a delegation to the United States in 1967 for the secretariat, which occasioned Smith to visit Gethsemani twice to dialogue about this dialogue with non-believers and other issues. Merton became godfather to Smith's son, Raphael, and corresponded with his wife, Anne. An authority on art, he founded as served as chairman of both the National Arts Foundation of New York and the International Awards Foundation. In his varied career, he served as music editor for «Esquire» and recorded folk songs from around the world. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», p. 556.)

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.

Charles Smith was Chairman of Chicago CORE and writes from Chicago, Illinois.

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.

Elwyn A. Smith was the Co-editor of the «Journal of Ecumenical Studies» at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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

Fr. R. F. Smith was a Jesuit priest and editor for «Review for Religious» in St. Mary's, Kansas.

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?).

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