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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.

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›.)

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.

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.

Gary A. Solbue was activities adviser for San Diego State College in California.

Fr. Philip M. Solem was assistant pastor at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Parish in Duluth, Minnesota. He was 28 at this time.

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

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.

Archimandrite Sophrony was an Orthodox Christian priest from the Monastery of St. John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights, Essex, England.

Dom Gabriel Sortais was Abbot General of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) from 1951-1963.

Muriel Soundry was editor at Hawthorn Books of New York.

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».

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 [online]. 6 Sep. 1998. Accessed 22 May 2006. Bellarmine University Library. ‹http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E1DC133CF935A3575AC0A96E958260›.)

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 editor of «Encounter» magazine. (Source: "Spender, Stephen" Obituary from Current Biography. 1995. Online. Biography Reference Bank. H.W. Wilson. Bellarmine University Library, Louisville, KY. 22 May 2006. ‹http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com›.)

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.

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›.)

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

Fr. Aelred Squire was a Dominican priest from England. While writing to Merton, he lived as a hermit at St. Vith, Belgium. Later in life, he joined the Camaldolese in Big Sur, California.

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.

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.

Charles Stanton writes from New York.

Br. Nivard Stanton is a monk of Gethsemani Abbey.

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 a former Franciscan friary in Wien, Missouri. The community's goal was to seek Christian unity through a life of communal prayer.

Robert Steed was a novice at Gethsemani from 1951-1953, and was known at that time as Br. Corentine. He later joined the Catholic Worker Movement. He writes from New York.

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).

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.

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. Benjamin J. Stein was a Benedictine priest and long-time head librarian for St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Walter Stein writes from Ilkley, England.

Br. David Steindl-Rast is a Benedictine monk who has been a pioneer in Christian-Buddhist dialogue, renewal in of the monastic life and interest in spirituality. He was born and educated through the doctoral level in Austria and was born in Vienna. In 1952, he came with his family to the United States. Shortly afterward, he joined the new Benedictine monastery of Mount Saviour near Elmira, New York, founded by Merton's friend Dom Damasus Winzen. ("Br. David Steindl Rast". Website of Gratefulness.org. Accessed 25 May 2006. ‹http://www.gratefulness.org/brotherdavid/bio.htm›.)

Mother Mary Stephen was abbess of Christ the King Monastery in Delray Beach, Florida.

Karl Stern was a psychiatrist and author writing from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Fr. Clifford Stevens is a priest of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, and author of a number of books on religion, religious history and morality. In the 1950's, he spent some time in seminary at the Trappist monastery of New Melleray in Iowa, but was disillusioned by changes in the order. He continued as a diocesan priest at other seminaries. During the 1960's, he served as an Air Force chaplain, writing to Merton from assignments in San Francisco, California, and from Itazuke, Japan, until 1969. After some assignments in New York and New Mexico, he has spent most of his life in Nebraska. In the 1980's, Stevens pursued his dream of founding a monastery with a purer ideal than he had seen in contemporary orders. He founded Tintern Monastery, a contemplative house of prayer, on a farm near Oakdale, Nebraska. He began with a group of previously ordained priests. Although many inquired about his monastery, few stayed, and the experiment was ended. (Source: "Clifford Stevens." Contemporary Authors Online. 2001. Thomson Gale. Bellarmine University Library. 26 May 2006 ‹http://galenet.galegroup.com›.)

B. J. Stiles was editor of «Motive» magazine and writes from Nashville, Tennessee. «Motive» magazine was a progressive publication and the official voice of the Methodist Student Movement. It was noted for its cutting edge graphic design and emphasis on the arts.

Robert Stock was a San Francisco poet who sends Merton a contribution for the fourth volume of «Monks Pond».

Mark Stone was a teacher from Olney High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvanian.

Naomi Burton Stone was Merton's literary agent who became a close friend and confidant. She was born in England and came to the United States in 1939. She took an early interest in Merton's work and was trying, unsuccessfully, to publish his early novels before he entered the monastery. However, she at first thought his writing career had ended when he entered the monastery. Later, Merton would send her a manuscript of The Seven Storey Mountain. In late 1946, she met with success in submitting it to Robert Giroux, who published and edited the best-selling book. (Source: Witness to Freedom, p. 123.)

James Storrow was publisher of «The Nation» magazine and writes from New York.

Sr. Judith Stoughton was art editor of «The New Catholic Encyclopedia» and writes from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Rex Stout was chairman of the Authors Guild, Inc., 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.

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.

Hudson Strode was an author and professor of English at University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

John L. Strong writes from Landover Hills, Maryland.

Dieter Struß writes from Gütersloh, Germany, on behalf of the publisher Sigbert Mohn Verlag.

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.

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.

John C. Sullivan writes from Leaside, Ontario, Canada.

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.

Arthur Hays Sulzberger was Chairman of the Board of «The New York Times» and its former publisher.