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: Witnesses to the authenticity of the Eucharist, and answers the agnostic’s objections of religion’s cannibalism. Recognizing that the Eucharist is a difficult teaching to accept, she argues that its understanding lies in its simplicity. Christ nourishes through His presence and accomplishes this through the most simple elements of life, bread and wine. (America, 5 (September 1, 1934):491. DDLW #54).
Summary: Excerpts from her testimony to Congress opposing conscription. Extensive quotes from Church sources and others who argue that conscription is against the natural right to free choice of work and personal liberty of action. (The Catholic Worker, July-August 1940, 1, 4. DDLW #363).
Summary: Tells of the marriage of Tom Cornell to Monica Ribar and the help received in setting up their apartment, the legal troubles of a theatre group, how their soup line started in 1936, and plans to build a model women’s prison at Riker’s Island. (DDLW #817). The Catholic Worker, July-August 1964, 2, 6.
Summary: Snippets expanded from her diary: recollection of early Russian friends, visitors, the death of Pope John Paul I and election of John Paul II, books, and operas. Says sex is fundamental but religion transfigures it. (DDLW #593).The Catholic Worker, October-November 1978, 3, 7.
Summary: Lists all the people and groups she visited and spoke to in Seattle and Portland, describing their projects to help the poor and the worker. (The Catholic Worker, March 1940, 1, 4. DDLW #355).
Summary: A review of summer activities including a children’s party held in honor of the Feast of the Assumption, passing out literature, answering inquiries, and the various summer centers hosting lectures. Describes a feisty infant whose antics inspired Peter Maurin to recite the principles of Catholic Action to this “potential recruit.” Defends The Catholic Worker’s* reaction to Rockerfeller’s recent donations to Catholic Charities in light of violence in Ludlow, Colorado. (The Catholic Worker, September 1934, 3, 7. DDLW #281).*
Summary: Reflections on some Catholic Workers being jailed for civil disobedience, visiting the prisoner, and the folly of the cross. Recalls the death of the Rosenbergs and notes new evidence that is surfacing. Includes notes from a visit to her daughter and grandchildren in Vermont. Says the arms race is insanity. Keywords: anarchy, prison, civil rights (DDLW #840). The Catholic Worker, June 1966, 2, 6, 8.
