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Archival description
Henri Nouwen fonds Subseries
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Awards and honourary degrees

Sub-series consists of awards and honourary degrees bestowed upon Henri Nouwen by various academic institutions, religious and community organizations, and literary associations, including correspondence and memorabilia relating to the awards and award ceremonies.

Books and articles

Sub-series consists of draft manuscripts and typescripts of many of Nouwen's published and unpublished books and articles, including forewords, introductions and afterwords for other authors' books. The sub-series represents Nouwen's writing process, from miscellaneous notes and journal entries to galley and print proofs. Some articles contain subject matter later published in Nouwen's full-length books; links between them have been made where appropriate. The sub-series has been divided into sub-sub-series for each of Nouwen's book-length projects, as well as files.
The sub-sub-series are as follows:

  1. Book on Anton T. Boisen
  2. Intimacy
  3. With Open Hands
  4. Aging
  5. Out of Solitude
  6. Reaching Out
  7. Genesee Diary
  8. Man at the Watershed
  9. Clowning in Rome
  10. In Memoriam
  11. A Cry for Mercy
  12. Downward Mobility
  13. A Letter of Consolation
  14. Compassion
  15. Gracias! A Latin American Journal
  16. A Spirituality of Peacemaking
  17. Love in a Fearful Land: A Guatemalan Story
  18. Lifesigns
  19. Behold the Beauty of the Lord
  20. Letters to Marc about Jesus
  21. The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey
  22. Heart Speaks to Heart
  23. In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership
  24. Theology as Doxology
  25. L'Arche and the World
  26. A Spiritual Journey
  27. Mary, Mother of the Priests
  28. Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given
  29. The Life of the Beloved
  30. Show Me the Way: Readings for Each Day of Lent
  31. The Return of the Prodigal Son
  32. Circus Diary
  33. Ukrainian Diary: July 24-August 14, 1993
  34. Our Greatest Gift: A Meditation on Dying and Giving
  35. With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life
  36. The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey through Anguish to Freedom
  37. Can You Drink the Cup?
  38. Ministry and Spirituality: Three Books in One
  39. Adam: God's Beloved
  40. Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith
  41. Sabbatical Journey: The Final Year
  42. Articles

Collected artwork

Sub-series consists of artwork depicting Henri Nouwen and other framed images and sculptures, which may have been displayed in Nouwen's office or living space.

Course lectures, handouts, reading, and student notes

Sub-series consists of bound volumes of materials and loose documents created and used by Nouwen for his teaching positions various academic institutions in both North America and Europe. This includes reading notes, preparation notes, lecture notes, typed lecture summaries, course handouts and syllabi, many of which are heavily annotated by Nouwen. It also includes lectures, letters, notes, assignments and course evaluations produced by Nouwen's students and teaching assistants. In addition to the course-specific bound volumes, there are two bound volumes that are labelled as "miscellaneous class material" that relate to Nouwen's early career from 1959 to 1976. This sub-series has been divided into 22 sub-sub series based on the course titles and subjects which Nouwen taught between 1961 and 1994, except for one sub-sub series involving the two-volume set of collected class materials mentioned above.
The sub-sub series are:

  1. Developmental Psychology
  2. Psychology of Personality
  3. Abnormal Psychology
  4. Psychology of Religion
  5. Pastoral Care
  6. Christian Spirituality
  7. Ministry to the Elderly
  8. Hospitality
  9. Discipline and Discipleship
  10. Prison Ministry
  11. Collected Class Materials
  12. The Life and Works of Thomas Merton
  13. Ministry and Spirituality
  14. Ministry in Non-Religious Institutions
  15. The Ministry of Vincent Van Gogh
  16. Compassion
  17. Education and Community
  18. Hesychasm
  19. Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry
  20. Spiritual Direction / Spiritual Life and Spiritual Direction
  21. Introduction to the Spiritual Life
  22. Early Dutch course material

Early personal photographs

Sub-series consists of approximately 221 slides taken by or collected by Nouwen. These slides are early personal photographs of Nouwen's.

General financial files

Sub-series consists of Nouwen's general financial files kept by his staff between 1980 and 1997. Includes material regarding bank accounts, credit cards, expenses, financial statements, frequent flyer programs, income from donations, honorariums, royalties and stipend, income tax, car, health and travel insurance and RRSP/retirement funds. Includes applications, correspondence, forms, informational pamphlets and booklets, invoices, newsletters, receipts, reports, and statements. Photographs accompany some correspondence (none of which are of Nouwen).
The files have been grouped chronologically according to the Nouwen staff member(s) responsible for the creation of the majority of the file. There are four groupings: files 1270-1281 consist of material from 1980 to 1986 created predominantly by Carol Plantinga and Peter Weiskel; files 1282-1303 consist material from 1986 to 1995 predominantly created by Connie Ellis; files 1304-1311 consist of material from 1984 to 1993 predominantly created by Lydia Banducci; and files 1312-1404 consist of material from 1985 to 1997 predominantly created by Margaret Sutton. Within each chronological grouping the material is arranged alphabetically by file title. There is also one file containing financial invoices, receipts, and financial statements from the period of 1956 - 1967.

Photograph albums

Sub-series consists of 5 photograph albums containing approximately 781 photographs and ephemera taken by or collected by Nouwen. Included are early personal photographs of Nouwen's trips abroad, his time at seminary school and his tenure at Yale Divinity School.

Albums are separated into the following files:

File 1: Photograph Album 3
File 2: Photograph Album 5
File 3: Photograph Album 10
File 4: Photograph Album 11
File 5: Photograph Album 14

Postcards and icons

Sub-series consists of approximately 500 postcards and icons collected by Nouwen. The postcards are blank except for three which contain letters on the verso. Nouwen maintained the collection of postcards and icons in three plastic index card boxes. The first section contains postcards largely of a religious nature, including architecture churches, monasteries, etc. from around the world) and artwork by Van Gogh, Chagall, Rodin, Degas, Renoir, Barlach, and others, as well as postcards of New York. Also contains a photograph of a sculpture of Jesus on the cross and the three postcards with letters.
The second section contains postcards of a religious nature, including architecture (churches, monasteries, etc. from around the world) and artwork by Renoir, Van Gogh, Rodin, and others. Also contains postcards of people, flowers and nature scenes, and scenes of places from predominantly around the US.
The third section contains envelopes of icons and postcards. The envelopes are labelled "Icons", "Marthe Robin", "Archives", "Abbey of the Genesee", "Marthe Robin", "Genesee", "Rembrandt", "Check For Archives" and "Freiburg Cards". Also contains some loose cards in the back, as well as a photograph of a picture of Edith Stein in 1925 and a photograph of a church, inscribed in Dutch on the back. This box also contains icon ordination cards from the 25th anniversary of Nouwen's ordination.

Postcards, cards and prints

Sub-series consists of various blank postcards, greeting cards and reprints of artwork, including prints of icons, a collection of prints by Rembrandt van Rijn, and other reprints of mostly religious artwork. It is possible that Nouwen had intended to send these materials with correspondence, as there are several copies of some prints and postcards.

Scrapbook 1956-1965

  • CA ON00389 F4-9-5
  • Subseries
  • 1956 - 1965, predominant 1956 - 1958
  • Part of Henri Nouwen fonds

Sub-series consists of original published articles written and cowritten by Nouwen, about Nouwen or of interest to Nouwen between 1956 and 1965. A majority of the articles are dated between 1956 and 1958 with others being undated and one article by Nouwen's uncle, Antonius (Toon) Ramselaar, written ca. 1965 (at p. 12). A photograph featuring a "Wayside Shine" in Dublin, Ireland is found on p. 8. All articles are described to the item level except for the two by Ramselaar.

Scrapbook 1965 -1982

  • CA ON00389 F4-9-6
  • Subseries
  • 1965 - 1975, predominant 1970 - 1972
  • Part of Henri Nouwen fonds

Sub-series consists of originals and photocopies of published articles written by Nouwen, about Nouwen, about his books, or kept by Nouwen between 1965 and 1982. A pen and ink sketch of Nouwen by Prof. Bainton during a lecture in 1972 is found at p. 35. All articles are described to the item level except for an article by A.C. Ramselaar, Nouwen's uncle, and the book reviews which are described at the file level. The book reviews include those for Intimacy, Bidden om het leven, Creative ministry, Een levende heenwijzing, and Met open handen.

Talks and sermons

Sub-series consists of draft manuscripts and typescripts of many of Nouwen's published and unpublished talks (including informal talks and formal lectures), and sermons (including several marriage homilies). The sub-series represents Nouwen's process of preparing for public speaking, from miscellaneous notes to annotated typescripts of talks intended for publication. Some talks and sermons contain subject matter later published in Nouwen's articles and full-length books; links between them have been made where appropriate. This sub-series also includes transcripts of Nouwen's talks made by others. It has been divided into a sub-sub-series for notebooks regarding sermons and other speaking events given by Nouwen, files, and items.