John Howard Griffin papers, 1920-2004

After clicking 'Submit Request', users will login with their UNI and password (Columbia affiliates) or their special collections account (external users). Appointments are required and will be arranged according to each individual repository's policy.


Series XVII.The Decade of the Seventies, 1970s

During his last decade, Griffin concentrated most of his energies on the research and writing of the official Biography of Thomas Merton--a project he relinquished to a second biographer (Michael Mott) in 1977. In order to support his family, he also became an editor for Sepia, the monthly magazine which had serialized his "Journey into Shame" articles which eventually became Black Like Me. Also, he lectured at universities on the theme of racism, but he spoke about Thomas Merton's spirituality as well. He traveled increasingly to Toronto, where he developed a huge Catholic student following, lecturing in Canada more often than in the States. By 1976, he experienced a serious decline in health, with complications that eventually ended his hope of completing the Merton biography. But from 1969-1972, he was. in reasonably good health, and completed most of the Merton research in a series of retreats at the monk's hermitage on the grounds of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Series XIII and XIV cover that period and document the Merton connection. Series XVIII is the journal he kept at Gethsemani, a book he worked on in 1979 and 1980, the year he died.. Even though he worked most diligently on the Merton materials until 1977, he did manage to write and publish a wide variety of shorter pieces and complete an immense number of photographic works.


Subseries XVII.1: General



Box 18 Folder 630 Twelve Photographic Portraits. A Chapbook published by Unicorn Press featuring portraits of Roland Hayes, Zara. Nelsova, Mark Van Doren, Lili Kraus, John Jacob Niles, Annie Fischer, Wendell Berry, Denise Levertov, Maxwell Gesmar, Thomas Merton and Brother Lavrans Nielsen, painter and monk at Gethsemani, Greensboro, NC: The Unicorn Press,, 1973, 1 volume (paperback


Box 18 Folder 631 Unicorn Press To John Howard Griffin, Santa Barbara, CA, 1969 & 1970, 1 t.l.s, 4 a.l. (signed Teo Savory

[With Griffin's carbon and photocopy of article on Merton's friendship


Box 18 Folder 632 Pilgrimage, [Fort Worth, TX], [1970s], 7 pp. t.ms. (carbon, with Griffin's ms. corrections

[Became a Latitudes Press chapbook in 1985. This was the only piece of fiction Griffin wrote after the 1950s, except for time spent on revising earlier unpublished novels (during the 196Os). With related correspondence from Renaissance Publications Co, Inc., 1973.


Box 18 Folder 633 Griffin, John Howard Review of George Woodcock's biography Thomas Merton, Monk and Poet, 3 page t.ms (carbon, with corrections


Box 18 Folder 634 Griffin, John Howard Review of Thomas Merton's Asian Journal, [Fort Worth, TX], [1973], 9 page t.ms.(carbon, with corrections


Box 18 Folder 635 Griffin, John Howard Outline for nine sessions of a seminar on Merton he gave in Toronto, [Toronto],, [1970s], 1 page t.ms.(carbon


Box 18 Folder 636 Griffin, John Howard "The Terrain of Physical Pain", Pilgrim Press, 1970, 14 page photocopy of essay

[One of Griffin's very finest essays, written from an objective point of view that masks his deeply personal involvement with physical pain, its levels of consciousness and possible adaptations to spiritual awakening; from the pages ofCreative Sufferingan- Anthology by Pilgrim Press, 1970


Box 18 Folder 637 Griffin, John Howard "My Book", Fort Worth, TX, 1973, 5 pp. t.ms.(carbon, with corrections

[A personal essay that discusses the handful of books which "have the capacity to transform one's life"--that is, books in Griffin's experience as a reader. Several books are discussed, but his focus is on the autobiography of the photographer Alvin Langdon Coburn. It was written forWaymagazine and published in a series


Box 18 Folder 637 Griffin, John Howard To The Editor of "Way" magazine, Fort Worth, TX,, 1973, t.l.(carbon)


Box 18 Folder 638 Griffin, John Howard "From Boy to Writer in One Night", Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest,, 1970, 5 page Photocopy of article

[Autobiographical anecdote about spending the night in Paris under a stairwell as a teenager which spins into some tips about turning experience into writing; one of only two Griffin pieces on the art of writing. From the anthologyHandbook of Short Story Writing, published by The Writer's Digest in 1973


Box 18 Folder 639 Griffin, John Howard "Racism 1974-1975", Huy, Belgium, October 1974, 16 page pamphlet

[An editorial on page 2, 3, 16 of the Belgian periodical "From Heart to Heart" published by the Dominique Pire Foundation


Box 18 Folder 640 Griffin, John Howard Review of Expectations 1975, an anthology of children's literature in Braille for blind. children, published by the Braille Institute of America, Fort Worth, TX,, [1975], 3 page t.ms.(carbon

[Published inThe New York Times Book Reviewin 1975; Griffin was blind for a decade


Box 18 Folder 681 Griffin, John Howard "J. Edgar Hoover's Interference With Church Leaders", [Fort Worth, TX],, 1976, 3 page t.ms.(carbon, with corrections

[An article about FBI interference with Dr. Martin Luther King and other black leaders; with a copy ofThe Continuing Inquiryin which it was published.


Subseries XVII.2: The Sepia Magazine File

Sepia, originally based in Fort Worth, moved to Chicago in the 1970s


Box 18 Folder 642 Ben Burns To John Howard Griffin, Chicago, IL, 1974, 4 t.l.s.


Box 18 Folder 643 Griffin, John Howard "Revolution in Medical Care", Fort Worth, TX, [1970s], 9 page t.ms.(carbon) and outlines

[Article about clinics for the poor, run by the poor; published with Griffin photographs


Box 18 Folder 644 Griffin, John Howard "Moore's Seafood", [Fort Worth, TX], [1970s], 7 page t.ms.(carbon, and outlines

[Article about Joe Moore, black Alabama businessman; published with JHG photos


Box 18 Folder 645 Griffin, John Howard "Paul Cuffe", Fort Worth, TX, [1970s], 16 page t.ms.(carbon

[Excellent piece of Black History about little-known sea captain and philanthropist


Box 18 Folder 646 "A Decade Later: The Unsolved Mystery of The Malcolm X Murder", Fort Worth, TX,, [1970s], 19 page t.ms.(carbon


Box 18 Folder 687 "How Wallace Has Changed on Race Relations", [Fort Worth, TX], [1970s], 10 page t.ms.(carbon, with related t.l.s. & invitation

[Article on Governor Wallace that suggests that the Alabama icon's image had been changed by a new press kit, in 1974, but black citizens of Alabama were skeptical.


Box 18 Folder 688 "Gospel Singer Kenneth Glover", Fort Worth, TX, 1973, 9 page t.ms.(carbon

[With an autograph letter from Glover to Griffin


Box 18 Folder 649 "Release of Mississippi Klansman Stirs Old Fears", Fort Worth, TX, 1973, 9 page t.ms.(carbon

[Article about the Klan's murder of Vernon Dahmer a leader in the Hattiesburg black community


Box 18 Folder 649 Griffin, John Howard To Ben Burns, Forth Worth, TX, 22 Feb. 1973, 1 t.l.s.

[Concerning later developments in the story


Subseries XVII.3: Media


Box 18 Folder 650 Articles on Griffin in Newsweek, etc.,, 1970 and 1977


Box 18 Folder 651 Krebs, A.Y. Article/Interview of Griffin in U.S. Catholic, [Fort Worth, TX], 1968, 13 page t.ms.(carbon


Box 18 Folder 651 Krebs, A.Y. To John Howard Griffin, San Francisco & Washington, DC,, 15 Sept. 1967 - 1 Sept. 1980, 3 letters


Box 18 Folder 652 Griffin, John Howard Interview from Fort Worth magazine, Fort Worth, TX, 1974, 7 page photocopy


Box 18 Folder 653 Smith, Thurston "Dying Like Me": Interview with Griffin U.S. Catholic, November 1977, 7 page photocopy

[Griffin's last interview published in U.S. Catholic; contains insights on pain, dying, and spirituality; one of his best interviews


Subseries XVII.4: Correspondence


Box 18 Folder 654 King, Coretta Scott To John Howard Griffin, Atlanta, GA, 7 September 1977, 1 telegram


Box 18 Folder 655 Kozol, Jonathan To John Howard Griffin, Boston, MA, 1972-1978, 3 a.l.s.


Box 18 Folder 656 Geismar, Maxwell To John Howard Griffin, Harrison, NY, 1970-1978, 9 t.l.s., 1 telegram


Box 18 Folder 657 Doherty, Catherine To John Howard Griffin, Ontario, 1970-1978, 17 t.l.s., 1 a.l.s.

[Old Merton friend and founder of Madonna House in Ontario, Canada; plus one carbon typescript response from Griffin


Box 18 Folder 658 Brannin, Carl To John Howard Griffin, Dallas, TX, 7 April 1978, 1 page a.l.s.

[Texas writer and regular contributor toThe Texas Observer, concerning the Observer's sending of 500 copies ofBlack Like Meto Texas colleges


Box 18 Folder 659 Upper Midwest Writers' Conference To John Howard Griffin, Bemidji, MN,, 1976, 3 t.l.s.

[With t.l. (carbon) response from Griffin


Box 18 Folder 660 Courtney, Lucille H. To John Howard Griffin, Shevlin, MN, 1976, 2 t.l.s. (with carbon replies

[About her novel


Box 18 Folder 661 John Frederick Nims To John Howard Griffin, Chicago & Lake Forest, IL,, 1976, 2 t.l.s.

[Poet, who was a colleague of Griffin's at the Upper Midwest Writing Conference [This experience was rare for Griffin, who did not "teach writing" on a professional basis.]


Box 18 Folder 662 William Shockley To John Howard Griffin, Stanford, CT, 12 July 1974, 5 page t.l.s. (with carbon reply

[Nobel Prize Laureate who invented the junction transmitter used in heart pacemakers, concerning his contention that blacks are genetically inferior to whites. In response to Griffin's July 1974 article in Sepia: "How White Intellectuals Become Racists", Dr. Shockley, surprised at Griffin's objectivity in the piece, nonetheless disagreed vigorously with Griffin's findings.


Box 18 Folder 663 Williams, Robert L. Form letter re. Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity (BITCH), St Louis, MO,, 1973, 2 page t.l. (with carbon

[A black psychologist


Box 18 Folder 664 NAACP To John Howard Griffin, New York, 30 March 1971, 1 page t.l. (signed Ruby Hurley


Box 18 Folder 665 Marycrest College Regarding Griffin's Commencement Address, Davenport, IA,, 1 page, t.l.s. (with carbon reply)


Box 18 Folder 666 Request for Griffin to write an introduction to a sociological text on black determinism, Grand Rapids, MI,, [n.d.], 1 page t.l.s.


Box 18 Folder 667 Flint Community Schools To John Howard Griffin, Flint, MI, 26 Dec. 1972, 1 page t.l.s.

[About an article following a Griffin lecture there


Box 18 Folder 668 Elizondo, Virgil To John Howard Griffin, San Antonio, TX, 29 Dec. 1978, 2 page t.l.s. (with Table of Contents, 3p.)

[President of the Mexican American Cultural Center in San Antonio Regarding working with Griffin in a study of the effects of racism on the Hispanic community


Box 18 Folder 669 American Society of Magazine Photographers (ASMP) To John Howard Griffin, New York,, 1971 & 1977, 2 t.l.s.


Box 18 Folder 670 The New York Times To John Howard Griffin, New York,, 22 Oct. 1970, 1 page t.l.s.

[Regarding photographs in their travel section


Box 18 Folder 671 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation To John Howard Griffin, Montréal,, 1968-1978, 3 t.l.s. (with carbon replies

[Concerning the airing of Griffin writings. The letters are in French


Box 18 Folder 672 Hargrove, Marion To John Howard Griffin, Santa Monica, CA, 9 Aug. 1976, 2 page t.l.s. (with carbon reply


Box 18 Folder 673 Rawhauser, Kurt To John Howard Griffin, San Francisco, 1970, 1 a.l.s., 2 t.l.s. (with related material


Subseries XVII.5: The Noonan File

Joe Noonan, staff cartoonist forWAYMagazine, first wrote to Griffin in 1971. Soon the two men were corresponding so regularly--and ultimately much more voluminously than Griffin corresponded with anyone in. his lifetime--that the file of Noonan letters to Griffin numbers 1,592 pieces. This is staggering when one considers that this computes to one letter every other day arriving in Griffin's mailbox for nine years (from 1971 until 1980). The pieces vary from postcards and notes to hundreds of single-spaced typed letters (totaling ever 3,000 pages). Noonan was an extremely clever cartoonist and nearly 800 of the 948 envelopes are decorated with his witty cartoons (and nearly all of these take-offs on the ongoing correspondence). Cartoons decorate the letters also; there are an estimated 4,000 original cartoons in the file.. While the accent of the correspondence is one of humor (subtle, bawd , satiric, absurd, and downright silly at times), there are also many Noonan letters that evoke seriousness--discussions of literature, politics, religion and society. Noonan's letters, however, are most notable for their wide range of humor--not only cartoons, but hundreds of loony news items and photographs that were often altered with the cartoonist's sharp pen. Noonan's primary motive was to keep a beleaguered and often very ill author cheered up, laughing, and several steps away from taking it all too seriously. Griffin loved his letters (and envelopes) and perhaps nothing else cheered him so jubilantly in his last years, (1977-1980) especially.. The little we know of Griffin's side of the correspondence (a safe estimate would be about 1,200 letters which are in Noonan's possession) is what is reflected in the Noonan letters. Also, we have an excellent article about the correspondence written by the cartoonist after Griffin's death, and published in a special issue ofWaymagazine exclusively dedicated to various aspects of the author.



Box 19 Folder 674-693 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, 1971 & Jan.-June 1972, 20 folders



Box 20 Folder 694-705 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, July-Nov. 1972, 12 folders



Box 21 Folder 706-715 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, Dec. 1972-March 1973, 10 folders



Box 22 Folder 716-722 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, April-Aug. 1973, 7 folders



Box 23 Folder 723-728 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, Sept.-Dec. 1973, 6 folders



Box 24 Folder 729-735 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, Jan.-May 1974, 7 folders



Box 25 Folder 736-745 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, June-Dec. 1974, 10 folders



Box 26 Folder 746-752 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, Jan.-July 1975, 7 folders



Box 27 Folder 753-758 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, Aug.-Dec.1975, 6 folders



Box 28 Folder 759-765 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, Jan.-May 1976, 7 folders



Box 29 Folder 766-772 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, June-Dec. 1976, 7 folders



Box 30 Folder 773-783 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, Jan.-Dec. 1977, 11 folders



Box 31 Folder 784-804 Noonan, Joe To John Howard Griffin, Hayword, CA, Jan. 1978-Dec. 1980, 20 folders