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Fr. William H. DuBay was author of the book, «The Human Church». DuBay found himself in fierce disagreement with Cardinal McIntyre over participation in civil rights protests. DuBay advocated Church involvement in the crusade for equal rights by marches and protests, but the Cardinal thought it was not right to be involved in this kind of public display. In 1966, he published his book, which brought to question many of the current hierarchical structures of the Church and advocated priest forming unions. In addition, it addressed the secular versus the Christian ethic. Not having approved the book through the official archdiocesan channels, he was soon forbidden to perform his priestly functions. Merton agreed with DuBay on many of his points, but did not think priests organizing a union would be as effective as informal networks to accomplish the same goals.

Jim Douglass is known for his theological writing and his activism in the area of non-violent resistance to war and especially nuclear arms. He was a friend of Daniel Berrigan and Dorothy Day. He served as a theological advisor on conscientious objection and nuclear war at the Second Vatican Council. He first met Merton while a professor at Bellarmine College in Louisville, Kentucky.

Merton wrote the foreword to Sally Donnelly's master's thesis at Smith College entitled "Marcel and Buddha : a metaphysics of enlightenment." This later became Merton's essay entitled "Nirvana," which was included in his book «Zen and the Birds of Appetite». Merton's friend and Smith professor Amiya Chakravarty sent it to Merton.

Ivanhoe Donaldson was working with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) while corresponding with Merton. He worked alongside another Merton correspondent from this time, Marion Barry, who would later become mayor of Washington, D.C. He served as an advisor to Barry from the sixties to the eighties and was involved in Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign.

Fr. Felix Donahue was a Trappist monk of Gethsemani. At the time of correspondence, he was studying in Rome and trying to vote by proxy in the abbatial election to replace Dom James Fox. He would later join the Trappist foundation of Nossa Senhora do Novo Mundo in Brazil.

Catherine de Hueck Doherty, also referred to as "The Baroness" because of her marriage to Russian noble Baron Boris de Hueck, fled after the Soviet revolution into Canada. Having lost everything, she went from financial struggle and a failed marriage to rebuilding her fortunes by the end of the 1920's. However, wealth did not bring her fulfillment and she decided to give away her money and work among the poor in 1930. She established the first Friendship House in Toronto and later in the 1930's created one in New York's Harlem. After marrying Eddie Doherty in 1943, they founded Madonna House in rural Ontario, a place of retreat and lay apostolate training. Merton heard her speak at St. Bonaventure College while teaching there and felt inspired to come to Harlem and work among the poor in 1941. By the end of that year, he had decided on a vocation as a Trappist at Gethsemani, but remained in touch with Doherty. There is currently a cause for canonization of Doherty. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», p. 3.)

According to a letter in this file from Br. Patrick Hart, O.C.S.O. dated 2001, Fr. James Dodge (known as Frater Linus while with the Trappists) was a novice with Merton in 1941-1942. He later went to Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina after its founding in 1949. After staying at Mepkin a few years, he left to become a parish priest.

Dom Willibrord-Christian van Dijk was abbot of the Trappist Abbey of Tilburg in the Netherlands from 1945-1966, during which time he founded the monastery at Rawa Seneng in Indonesia, first visiting in 1952. He returned to Indonesia as superior from 1966-1968, when he had to resign due to an eye disease. He later moved to the Maria Frieden Abbey to live with the Trappistine sisters there in Germany. He regretted having to leave for Germany before Merton could have made it to see him in Asia.

Fr. Leo Diekmann was a Benedictine priest and editor of «Worship», "A review devoted to the Liturgical Apostolate", published at the Liturgical Press of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. Besides the subject of liturgical renewal, he wrote to Merton concerning the ecumenical movement and changes to the monastic life after the Second Vatican Council. He was also involved in civil rights marches in the 1960's and had later supported the full ministry of women in the Catholic Church.

Terrell Dickey was a commercial artist from Louisville, Kentucky. The Abbey of Gethsemani hired Dickey to assist with the layout of books and pamphlets produced by the monastery on Gethsemani and the Trappist life. Merton first records in his journal a meeting with Dickey about a postulant's pamphlet on September 10, 1957. He also consults with Dickey about Merton's proposed book on art, Art and Worship, which was not published.

One of the most prominent woman poets of the Beat movement early in her life as poet, Di Prima later co-founded the literary magazine «The Floating Bear» with Imamu Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones), which was published throughout the sixties and is "the bear" to which Merton refers in his letter.

Professor Leslie Dewart was born in Spain, raised in Cuba, and moved to Canada in 1942 to serve as pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He later spent a long career in the philosophy and religion departments of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto. His writings blended religion. law and language studies. At the time of correspondence with Merton, he was writing a book called «Christianity and Revolution: The Lesson of Cuba», which studied the connection between the Catholic Church and the Cuban Revolution (source: «Witness to Freedom», p. 282).