Person
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1938-
Maria Cooper Janis is daughter of actor Gary Cooper. Janis is a painter, is interested in parapsychology, and has recently written a book about her father and his life off camera. A letter she had sent the year of her father's death is not extant, but there is a copy of Merton's reply. He relates having enjoyed watching Cooper movies before entering the monastery and jokes, "I even had a temptation to hope that if the Seven Storey Mountain became a film, he would play in it. This was a clear case of vanity on my part!!"
Person
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1881-1963
Italian-born Angelo Guiseppe Cardinal Roncalli was elected pope in 1958 taking the name Pope John XXIII. Seen as a transitory pope because he was in his late seventies, he initiated the Second Vatican Council, ushering in the most sweeping changes to the Roman Catholic Church in centuries. In 1960, he sent Merton one of his stoles and a signed photograph. Merton wrote a letter concerning the threat of nuclear war, the war machine in the United States, and Merton's support for the peace movement. Pope John's secretary Monsignor Capovilla expressed that the Holy Father was "impressed" by the letter and pleased by his writings on peace and dialog with Protestants. Bl. Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was beatified in 2000. (Source: «The Hidden Ground of Love», p. 481.)
Person
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1935-1998
Ronald Johnson was a poet and common friend of Merton's with poet Jonathan Williams. Merton sent Johnson one of his drawings and Johnson sent Merton some of his poems, including his book «The Green Man».
Person
Jorgensen compares Merton to C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.
Person
At the time of this correspondence, William Jovanovich was writing from New York as President of Harcourt, Brace and World.
Person
Person
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1922-
Nicholas de Belleville Katzenbach was United States Undersecretary of State under President Lyndon B. Johnson. He had previously served as Attorney General. Merton writes in plea for the civilian victims of the Vietnam War that the United States make a humanitarian gesture to provide medical relief to the civilian population in North Vietnam.
Person
Fr. Bernard Kaul was a Cistercian monk writing from Hauterive Abbey, Switzerland.
Person
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1898-
Born in Minnesota, Ralph Keithahn began as a missionary and social worker in 1925. He was influenced by Gandhi and the movement for the Indian national movement. He later cut ties with the missionary societies of the United States, adopted traditional Indian garb, and lived in an ashram in South India. A contemporary of Bede Griffiths, he similarly drew on both Christian monasticism and the ashram tradition of India. He was a Benedictine oblate when he died. He writes to Merton from the Sarvodaya Ashram.
Person
Mary Lu Kelly was project assistant to Dr. Robert F. Roeming, a French and Italian professor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Person
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1928-
Ethel Kennedy is the widow of Robert F. Kennedy and daughter of George and Ann Skakel (see "Skakel, Ann Brannack" file).
Person
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1945-
Catherine Kent was a 23-year-old teacher from Dorchester, Massachusetts, at the time of writing.
Person
Donald Keys was Director of Communication for the International Center for Integrative Studies (ICIS), who published «Forum» (or "Forum for Correspondence and Contact"). Merton's friend Amiya Chakravarty was on the Board of Sponsors.
Person
Simon King was Director of Burns and Oates publishers and writes from London.
Person
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1907-
Winston L. King was a professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He and Merton discuss Zen and the visit of Shibayama Roshi to Nashville.
Person
Person
Person
Fr. Bede Kok was a Brazilian Trappist monk.
Person
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1905-2004
Franz Cardinal König was Archbishop of Vienna, Austria.
Person
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1904-1977
Giorgio La Pira was an Italian politician who was twice mayor of Florence and served as deputy of the Christian Democrats. He was serious about his Catholic faith and was in the Third Order of Saint Dominic. He brought his values to his political life and campaigned for peace and against atomic weapons. He has a cause for sainthood and was declared "venerable" by Pope Francis in 2018.