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: Relishes the quiet of her room in their new house and describes the work and cost of renovation. Connects the many forms of love and how hard love is. She notes with bitterness the bombing of Catholic churches in Vietnam. (DDLW #893). The Catholic Worker, January 1069, pp. 2,6
Summary: Tales of her travel to Rome to join twenty women on a ten-day fast for peace at Vatican Council II. Shares vignettes of friends, clergy, meetings, books, prayers, Masses, and accommodations. Describes the pain that accompanied her fast. (DDLW #835).
Summary: Writes of visits to hospitals and conscientious objectors suffering in prison. Recalls “that to love means to suffer, and who would be without love.” (The Catholic Worker, May 1951, 3, 6. DDLW #233).
Summary: Updates readers about recent events in her daughter’s family. Decries the disbanding of a multi-national and interracial fraternal association because of its Communist connections. Says they oppose “atheistic communism,” not economic communism based on mutual aid. (The Catholic Worker, February 1952, 4. DDLW #629).
Summary: An appeal for money to carry on the work of hospitality, and to buy and repair an old house. Compares the CW approach to the city and states’ way. Notes that Jesus tells us to ask for what we need, and that our Heavenly Father knows what we need. (DDLW #251) The Catholic Worker, Mar/Apr1967, p. 2
Summary: Upon learning of Thomas Merton’s sudden death, she quotes a letter from him refuting the suggestion he was leaving monastic life. In the quotes, Merton clarifies his role in the peace movement and gives a Christmas message of hope at a time when we need courage. (DDLW #901) The Catholic Worker, December 1968, pp. 1, 6
Summary: An empathic reflection on the last hours before the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg who were convicted of spying for Russia. Weaves images of children, fear of death, praying the psalms, and the duplicity of prelates who bless US warmaking. Says we must pray for mercy and have no part with the vindictive state. (DDLW #654) The Catholic Worker, July-August 1953, 2, 6.
