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: Points out that many Join the Communist Party with good intentions, such as to better man’s human condition, yet many have received no religious training and are not concerned with the Party’s anti-religious stance. Gives a short summary of Lenin’s attitude toward dealing with Christianity. (The Catholic Worker, 49 (April 29, 1933):82-83. DDLW #44).
Summary: Introduces the book as “a woman’s book, and for women,” dealing “with things of concern to us all, the family, the home, how to live, and what to live and what we live by.” (DDLW #475).
Summary: Speaks of her experience with the poor, and her love of the Church and the Eucharist. Recalls that August 6th is the day to remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki and is critical of a nearby Mass for the military. Notes her family members involvement in wars and asks us to fast, like Ammon Hennacy, and to do penance and ask for forgiveness. (DDLW #258). The Catholic Worker, September 1976, 1, 5.
Summary: Writes of a time of fasts and feasts–Orthodox Jews observing the Day of Atonement while their Italian neighbors continued to celebrate the Feast of San Gennaro. Tragedy marred the celebration–a drunken fight resulted in the fatal stabbing of a participant. While visiting with her neighbors during the festa, she reflects upon the hardships in her neighbors’ lives, the acceptance with which they endured their poverty, and the enthusiasm with which they embraced the simple pleasures which came their way. (The Catholic Worker, October 1939, 1, 4, 7. DDLW #348).
Summary: Eulogizes Gandhi as a pacifist martyr and a clear example of “divinized humanity.” Sees his death as added to the sacrifice of Christ, sharing in the folly of the cross. Calls his way of non-violence “the full way, because he adhered to an Absolute.” (DDLW #463). The Catholic Worker, February 1948, 1T
Summary: She asks for help—“It is hard to be a beggar.” Admires the voluntary poverty of St. Francis, Gandhi, and Peter Maurin. In contrast, the “destitute and dissolute” are often despised as “bums” in the city, and we fail to see “the sacred element in every human being.” (Simone Weil) (DDLW #844) The Catholic Worker, Oct/Nov 1966, p. 2
Summary: Fondly recalls Sister Aloysia who guided her preparation for Baptism, mentions tax resistance, and the enthusiasm of a convention of 16,000 charismatic Catholics whom she wishes would embrace peace activities, rejection of war, and income tax resistance. However, she admires their return to Scripture and communitarian spirit. Keyword: Pentecostal (The Catholic Worker, October-November 1975, 1, 8. DDLW #557).
Summary: Ill in bed, she tells of the immanent move to a new Maryhouse for women. Describes their farm as a “village”, remembers three workers who died, and recalls the pacifist witness of Ammon Hennacy and his gentle personality. (The Catholic Worker, July-August 1974, 2, 6. DDLW #542).
