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: Describes the deportation to Spain of Francisco Fernandez from a Federal prison. Lauds his dedication to human freedom, protest against the state, and decries all totalitarian regimes. (DDLW #918) The Catholic Worker, April 1955, pp. 3, 7
Summary: A chronicle of the life of Cesar Chavez and his organizing work with the National Farm Workers Association. Admires his commitment to nonviolence, religious and moral values, and “hope and faith animated by love.” Says he is a man of vision and experience. Notes the CW’s long-time coverage of agricultural worker struggles. (DDLW #831). The Catholic Worker, February 1966, 1, 6.
Summary: A plea not to prejudge Angela Davis and Communists. Continues with many stories of interracial actions of Catholic Workers from the 30s onward, tying the horrible past and present war in Southeast Asia. Reminds us of the primarcy of the spiritual in the “little it is we do, or can do.” Yet we are bound together, “members one of another.” Even from evil God can bring great good. (DDLW #933: The Catholic Worker, Feb 1971, pp. 2, 6, 8).
Síntesis: Describe el programa de Peter para la reorganización social. Llama a una revolución verde y un retorno a las aldeas. Todo su mensaje se materializa en el personalismo, que comienza en uno mismo. Culpa de los problemas del Catholic Worker a su incapacidad de limitarse. (DDLW #176). The Catholic Worker, mayo 1955, 2.
Summary: Meditation on the myriad forms of community–in her writing, their neighborhood, parish, the siants, guests, and in the many nationalities they encounter. Quotes from Martin Buber and notes the difficulties in all human associations. (The Catholic Worker, October 1950, 1, 2. DDLW #615).
Summary: Deeply personal account of being with her dying mother. Includes prayers and meditations on death and dying. Prays to the Little Flower for her mother. Evidence of answered prayer came in a variety of roses from different sources. (The Catholic Worker, November 1945, 2. DDLW #461).
Summary: In the guise of sending news to those serving in the military or in prison she writes a chatty column “of gossip”. Describes life at Maryfarm and her trip through the Midwest. Lauds manual labor and self-sufficiency. (The Catholic Worker, November 1944, 1, 2. DDLW #406).
Summary: Reaffirms the distributist economic vision of property and work against critics, while acknowledging “It needs to be constantly rewritten, re-assessed, restated…” Comments on Chesterton and Dickens in relation to renewing distributism. (DDLW #244). The Catholic Worker, July-August 1956, 4.
