The Dorothy Day Library on the Web includes all of Dorothy Day’s writings in The Catholic Worker newspaper as well as selected articles published elsewhere and many of her books.
You can use the search form above, or browse the writings using one of the methods below.
For an additional list of resources about Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement, see the bibliography.
Note that these dropdown menus cover all posts on the CatholicWorker.org website. However, posts listed under 1981 or earlier are exclusively from Dorothy’s writings.
An account of the first five years of the Catholic Worker. Describes the C.W. not simply as a newspaper but as a movement. Explicates its position on labor and unions through Peter Maurin’s ideas on personalism. Much of the book, however, is taken up with the day to day experiences of the C.W., describing the soup lines, publication of the paper, picketing, farm communes, and the finances of the C.W. (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1939.
States the objectives of the Catholic Worker and defends it against the accusations of other Catholics and secular thought. Writes on such themes as marriage, sex, the human condition, poverty, economics and a variety of Church doctrines. All of these topics are treated from an orthodox Catholic point of view. The book is adapted from the diary she kept in 1948, when she spent the first four months with Tamar (daughter) and the rest of the year at Mott Street and the retreat farm in Newburgh. She noted that the book could be called a woman’s book, since parts of it are directed solely to women. As usual, much of the book dwells on the day-to-day happenings in her life.
An autobiography written as a letter to her brother John. Conversion story genre of her conversion from Communism to Catholicism. Compiled from articles in America and Preservation of the Faith. Discusses Dostoyevsky’s influence on her life and the lonely experience of her conversion Reads as a baptized version of The Eleventh Virgin, with emphasis on her religious experience throughout her life. Expounds on such topics as Eucharist, prayer, Marxism, capitalism, free will and St. Teresa of Avila.
Autobiographical novel of her pre-conversion years. Begins with family relationships, with emphasis on her mother. Proceeds through her radical years with the pacifist, birth control, socialist and suffrage movements, and ends with her abortion and break up with Lionel Moise (Dick Wemys). William Miller’s biography on D.orothyDay gives the real names of the characters. The New York Times reviewed the book as “just one more adolescent novel,” and D.orothy herself later called it a bad book.
Summary: Digest of news stories of organized underground efforts by political prisoners in Russia culminating in a strike by miners. Focuses on the role of faith in this non-violent struggle. (The Catholic Worker, March 1954, 3, 8. DDLW #662).
Summary: Tales of hospitality, distributing the paper, and propaganda meetings. Affirms the primacy of performing the works of mercy over “talking and writing about the work.” Quotes from Frederick Ozanam on putting faith into action. Describes homey scenes at the beach house with Theresa and their beachcomber friend Smiddy. Tells of their poverty and their joy amid their city neighbors, a busy parish Church nearby, and Peter’s efforts in Harlem. (DDLW #438).
Summary: Comments on numerous books, recollections of childhood, and mentions various friends and visitors. (The Catholic Worker, March-April 1979, 2, 7. DDLW #597).
Summary: Says they are “broke again and are beggars.” Lists their expenses and improvements that were needed in city and farm on Staten Island. Recalls Saints Paul, Joseph (“the householder”), Francis, and Therese. (DDLW #772). The Catholic Worker, October 1960, 2.
The Eleventh Virgin is Dorothy Day’s autobiographical novel about her pre-conversion years, Published in 1924 and panned by The New York Times, Dorothy later called it a “bad book.”
Summary: Comments on the campaign to make everyone literate in Cuba and the impassioned style of Fidel Castro’s oratory. Asserts that she found freedom of religion. Includes an extensive quote from Castro where he says one can be a revolutionist and a Catholic as long as anyone holds to the aims of the revolution and justice holding religious beliefs in his heart. (DDLW #795). The Catholic Worker, October 1962, 1, 2.
Summary: Reflects on the plight of the men on the breadline and the “natural cheerfulness of the moment.” Asks readers to help their work of feeding those who represent Christ. (DDLW #328). The Catholic Worker, December 1937, 1, 4.
