Subseries 2 - Henri Nouwen Literary Centre correspondence files

1.34 m of textual records
18 photographs ; 14 x 8.5 cm or smaller
4 diskettes

Between 1996 and 1998 the files were primarily maintained under the direction of Sue Mosteller by Kathy Christie with assistance from Tannis Arnett. Joyce Doyle provided administrative support during Christie’s yearlong sabbatical which began between 1998 and 1999. In 2000 the management of the files was assumed by Maureen Wright, who replaced Mosteller as Director of the Henri Nouwen Literary Centre, and administrative assistant Mary Lou Doyle. Annotations by Christie, Mosteller, Arnett, Doyle and Wright appear throughout the series. Beyond the date range of each file, email headers and signatures often indicate who created and maintained the file and for what purpose.

Subseries consists of correspondence files kept by staff at the Henri Nouwen Literary Centre (HNLC) as part of the management of Nouwen’s estate and the business of the HNLC. The files were predominantly created during the four years following Nouwen’s death, prior to the establishment of the Henri Nouwen Literary Trust and the incorporation of the Canadian branch of the Henri Nouwen Society. Due to the overlapping administrative support of the Henri Nouwen Literary Centre and the American branch of the Henri Nouwen Society, as well Sue Mosteller’s continued role with various L’Arche communities, records pertaining to the operation of these entities are not uncommon. Often accompanying the correspondence is reference material in the form of agreements, articles, brochures, reports, proposals, newsletters and biographical sketches. Files containing personal correspondence sent to Nouwen and presumably used as reference material by the staff of the Henri Nouwen Literary Centre appear throughout the series. In several instances business or personal correspondence that took place after Nouwen’s death between the contact and, most often, Mosteller or Kathy Christie also appear in these files.

Topics in this series include: planning and research regarding the management of Nouwen’s legacy and estate; the mission, goals and incorporation of the Henri Nouwen Society; the relocation and development of the Nouwen Archives; the publication of Nouwen’s unpublished and revised published works; the translation and use of Nouwen’s work and the associated royalties and copyright restrictions; the writing and publication of Nouwen related books by authors including Beth Porter, Michael Ford, Tim Jones, Deidre LaNoue and Michael O’Laughlin; Nouwen focused retreats, workshops, lectures, courses and memorials; the production of Nouwen related audio and visual projects; the design and launch of Nouwen related newsletters and websites; the funding and functions of the Henri Nouwen Stichting; responses to and reviews of Nouwen’s writing; Nouwen’s influence on Hillary Clinton; the operations of the Thomas Merton Center; and Nouwen’s appearance on Hour of Power at the Crystal Cathedral.

Added by T Wong, 15 March 2021