Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1929-1968 (Creation)
Extent
6.25 cubic feet; 2 1/2 drawers
Name of creator
Biographical history
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was a writer and Trappist monk at Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. His writings include such classics as The Seven Storey Mountain, New Seeds of Contemplation, and Zen and the Birds of Appetite. Merton is the author of more than seventy books that include poetry, personal journals, collections of letters, social criticism, and writings on peace, justice, and ecumenism.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This Sub-Section includes Merton's handwritten personal diaries and journals, as well as his reading notebooks or working notebooks. His journals have been published in their entirety. Small sections of the notebooks have been quoted in various works, but the notebooks have not on the whole been published. The notebooks range in date from 1946-1968.