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: Convalescing after a mild heart attack, she meditates on the beauty of nature and the joy of singing. Says she needs to work at being less irritable. Recommends an article on death someone sent her. (DDLW #574). The Catholic Worker, October-November 1976, 1, 4, 7.
Summary: In jail for civil disobedience she describes in graphic detail the experience of detention–noise, animality, despair, mistreatment, “the ugliness of it all”. She has particular sympathy for the drug addicts and prostitutes. Sees her stay as visiting the prisoner and an opportunity to tell the story of those in jail. Points to the need for faith in small actions and for prayer. (The Catholic Worker, September 1957, 1, 2, 6. DDLW #726).
Summary: Meditation on the struggle between heaven and earth, between God and man, and between worship and action. Juxtaposes images of an atomic bomb test, the mentally ill, the Mass and worship, and quotes from writers. Argues for decentralization of government services, most especially for the decentralization of mental hospitals, and personal responsibility over state aid. Explains how all must atone for sin through suffering. (The Catholic Worker, June 1956, 2. DDLW #707).
Summary: Attends a dinner in honor of Raissa Maritain and takes her to a jazz club in Harlem. Compares the Mott Street neighborhood to a village with small shops, sweet smells, generosity, troubles, pets. Asks if someone can send a hedgehog to her daughter. (The Catholic Worker, December 1938, 1, 4. DDLW #338).
Summary: Reports on the growth of C.W., new houses, the newspaper’s circulation, and various projects. Assesses the employment situation and the country’s willingness to mobilize for war and the making of profit. Expresses gratitude for the people who have answered their appeal and have continued to make the C.W.’s ministry possible. Amidst talk of war and peace ” It would be hard to keep a cheerful spirit in the face of the calm acceptance of this preparation for mass slaughter and insanity if it were not for our faith.” (The Catholic Worker, November 1939, 1, 4. DDLW #350).
