John Howard Griffin papers, 1920-2004

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Series XIV. A Hidden Wholeness and Follow the Ecstasy

Subseries XIV.1: A Hidden Wholeness

A Hidden Wholeness: The Visual World of Thomas Mertonwas published by Houghton Mifflin, in cloth and paperback-large-format editions, in 1970. An inferior cloth edition was later published by Norman Berg in 1977. The working title for the book wasThe Visual Merton, as cited in the correspondence between Griffin and publishers, as well as his correspondence with the Members of The Merton Legacy Trust. The book consists of a short text by Griffin, his photographs of Merton and the surrounding environment, and Merton's own photographs and paintings (which he called "calligraphs" or "signatures"--abstract miniatures suggesting the influences of Franz Kline, Paul Klee, and Zen calligraphy). Griffin was appointed "Official Biographer" in 1969; he worked on the "Official Biography" from 1969 until 1977.

Request Box 15

Box 15 Folder 557 First Draft, [n.p.], 1970, 45 pages t.ms. (some photocopy, with autograph revisions by the author, plus notes by the copy editor

Box 15 Folder 558 Revisions of the manuscript, [n.p.], [1970], 12 pages t.ms. (with the author's ms. revisions

Box 15 Folder 559 Rewrites, [n.p.], March 1970, 20 page t.ms. (carbon

[Accompanied by a t.l. (carbon) to his editor and a carbon list of photographs

Box 15 Folder 560 & 561 Notes and technical correspondence in reference to the Galleys, and two (2) Complete Sets of Galleys, with extensive corrections and mark-up.

Box 15 Folder 562 Reviews of A Hidden Wholeness

Subseries XIV.2: Follow the Ecstasy: Thomas Merton, The Hemitage Years, 1965-1968

Published by Latitudes Press in 1983 in a quality paperback edition with slip-cover dust jacket. Three paperback editions (without dust jacket) followed under the Latitudes imprint. This edition was edited by Robert Bonazzi, who also wrote the Preface. A Revised edition was published by Orbis Books in 1993. This paperback includes a 16 page glossy folio of Griffin photographs and a new Foreword by the editor. The Orbis edition is entitled:Follow the Ecstasy: The Hemitage Years of Thomas Merton.. [It is important to note here thatFollow the Ecstasyrepresents only a portion of Griffin's proposed "Official Biography of Thomas Merton". The official biography was never completed. The full story, including the genesis ofFollow the Ecstasythat emerged from the unfinished biography, is documented in Robert Bonazzi's "Foreword" to the Orbis Books revised edition.]. This Series includes all of Griffin's working drafts from the unfinished "Official Biography of Thomas Merton"

Request Box 16

Box 16 Folder 563 Chapter One. "First Draft Notes", 11 page t.ms. (with Griffin's autograph revisions, as well as notes about placement of photographs

[With 1 page of notes by Robert Bonazzi.

Box 16 Folder 564 Chapter One. Final Draft, 7 page t.ms. (with Griffin's ms. corrections

Box 16 Folder 565 Chapter One. Revised Typescript Carbon, 6 page t.ms. (carbon

[This Chapter was never published; only a few have seen final draft

Box 16 Folder 566 Chapter for 1956. First Draft, 10 pages t.ms. (with Griffin's autograph revisions in red ink

[This recounts Merton's 1956 meeting with psychiatrist Gregory Zilborg, in Minnesota; this Controversial meeting of Or. Zilborg and Merton has been discussed in print by several biographers and Father John Eudes Bamberger, who actually attended the meeting. However, Griffin's chapter was never published, and only a few have seen the final draft; the drafts

Box 16 Folder 567 Chapter for 1956. Final Draft, 10 page t.ms. (with Griffin's ms. corrections

Box 16 Folder 568 Chapter for 1956. Corrected Carbon, 10 pages t.ms. (carbon, with Griffin's ms. corrections

Box 16 Folder 569 Chapter for 1965. First Draft, 43 pages t.ms. (with Griffin's autograph revisions in red ink

Box 16 Folder 570 Chapter for 1965. Final Draft, 50 pages t.ms (with Griffin's ms. corrections

Box 16 Folder 571 Chapter for 1965. Corrected Carbon, 50 pages t.ms. (carbon (with Griffin's ms. corrections

Box 16 Folder 572 Chapter for 1966. First Draft, 42 pages t.ms. (with Griffin's autograph revisions in red ink

Box 16 Folder 573 Chapter for 1966. Final Draft, 74 pages t.ms (with greatly expanded text from First Draft, including revisions

Box 16 Folder 574 Chapter for 1966. Final Draft, 74 pages t.ms. (carbon, with Griffin's ms. corrections

Box 16 Folder 575 Chapter for 1967. First Draft, 60 pages t.ms. (with Griffin's ms. corrections

Box 16 Folder 576 Chapter for 1967. Final Draft, 60 pages t.ms. (with Griffin's ms. corrections

Box 16 Folder 577 Chapter for 1967. Corrected Carbon, 60 pages t.ms. (carbon, with Griffin's ms. corrections

Box 16 Folder 578 Chapter for 1968. First Draft, 10 pages t.ms. (with Griffin's ms. corrections

Box 16 Folder 579 Chapter for 1968. Final Draft, 18 pages t.ms. (expanded text

Request Box MC 14/16/02

Box MC 14/16/02 Folder 580 (oversize) Reviews of the 1983 Latitudes Press edition of Follow the Ecstasy

Request Box 16

Box 16 Folder 581 Reviews of the 1993 Orbis Books revised edition

Box 16 Folder 582 Dust Jackets (using Griffin photographs of Merton) from two biographies of Thomas Merton, by John J. Higgins and Cornelia Sussman

Collection Overview

Collection Contents

John Howard Griffin papers, 1920-2004

Series XIV. A Hidden Wholeness and Follow the Ecstasy

Subseries XIV.1: A Hidden Wholeness

Subseries XIV.2: Follow the Ecstasy: Thomas Merton, The Hemitage Years, 1965-1968