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These letters, mostly originals from Burden to Merton, primarily concern the publication of Burden's books of photographs of Gethsemani, entitled God Is My Life. However, they also discuss the Shakers, and Burden may have helped Merton come into contact with Edward Deming Andrews. Merton sends Burden photographs of his drawings in hopes of having them displayed in Santa Barbara with proceeds going to a Negro scholarship and a scholarship at Bellarmine College in Louisville.
Shirley Burden was a photographer from Beverly Hills, California.
Please click here for general restrictions concerning Merton's correspondence.
See also the "Fox, James" file for information about the struggles of publishing a book depicting monks at Gethsemani, and the "Andrews, Edward Deming" and "Andrews, Faith" files for Merton and Burden's shared interest in the Shakers.
If the person in correspondence with Merton has full text records in the Merton Center Digital Collections, there will be a numeric link to them below.
This Record Sub-Group is not divided into Series and is arranged chronologically.
Click icons for links: ✓="Published | Library Record", ✉="Scanned" | 🗷="Scanned, Viewable Only at Merton Center"
| # | Date | From/To | First Lines | Pub ✓ | Notes |
| | y/m/d | Merton | | Scan ✉ | |
| 1. |
1959/12/16 |
TLS to Merton |
This letter is two-fold - to wish you a very, very Merry Christmas and to report on the book. |
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«detailed view» |
| 2. |
1960/01/19 |
TLS to Merton |
I am enclosing the proofs of your introduction to God is My Life. I would have liked to send you |
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«detailed view» |
| 3. |
1960/03/21 |
TLS to Merton |
I flew back to New York the other day to watch the birth of "God is My Life". The Meriden Gravure |
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«detailed view» |
| 4. |
1961/01/11 |
TLS to Merton |
Well, here I am back in California again, no closer to Gethsemani, but full of Shaker information. |
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«detailed view» |
| 5. |
1961/08/28 |
TLS to Merton |
Shortly you will receive a small gift package from me. It is a chasuble I saw in a peasant exhibit |
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«detailed view» |
| 6. |
1965/03/29 |
TLS to Merton |
Thanks so much for your note together with the enclosure concerning the exhibit. Glad you liked |
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«detailed view» |
| 7. |
1965/04/02 |
TL[c] from Merton |
Thanks for your good and prompt letter. I am sending three rather poor photographs of the drawings |
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«detailed view» |
| 8. |
1970/10/08 |
TLS[x] to Center from Burden, Shirley |
In answer to your recent letter regarding any letters, etc. I might have from Thomas Merton, |
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«detailed view» |
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