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: In the midst of reporting on a twenty-seven city speaking trip she laments that the state too often replaces personal responsibility for the poor. Repeats that the fundamental idea of the Catholic Worker is that we are made to love God and our brothers–the works of mercy practiced by each of us “at a personal sacrifice.” (The Catholic Worker, November 1951, 1, 2, 6. DDLW #626).
Summary: Depicts the plight of black sharecroppers in Mississippi–efforts to drive them off the land, economic injustice, intimidation, and lack of ownership. Tells of efforts to speak out and organize. Before arriving in the deep south she visits Catholic Workers in Memphis. Keywords: segregation The Catholic Worker, November 1956, 6, 8. DDLW #714).
Summary: Announces the births of two great-grandchildren, describes a visit to Tamar’s farm in Vermont, and the harvesting of apples and vegetables. Praises Dick Bliss’ Green Hill School, and the character of “useful” versus “useless” work, quoting Dostoevsky. (The Catholic Worker, October-November 1974, 2, 8. DDLW #545).
Summary: Tours a town of shacks and learns of their desperate straits. Interviews town residents. Says Christ suffers with them and asks God to have pity on them and us “who permit such things to be.” (DDLW #941). The Catholic Worker, Mar 1940, p. 5
Summary: Explains what anarchism and pacifism mean against the backdrop of the modern state. Reaffirms the principles of subsidiarity, freedom and personal responsibility, and the membership of all in the body of Christ. (DDLW #237) The Catholic Worker, February 1954, pp 1, 7
Summary: Recalls her prayer at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception that God show her a way to use her talents to help labor, Peter Maurin’s appearance and inspiration, and the notion of personal responsibility–“Every one can help.” Thanks all who have supported the work. (The Catholic Worker, Dec 1933, 4. DDLW #277).
