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 This was the only piece of fiction Griffin wrote after the 1950s, except for time spent on revising earlier unpublished novels (during the 196Os).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
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
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