File 224 - Letters from Robert Ellsberg

0.8 cm textual records

File consists of two folders of letters. The first file contains 12 letters written from Nouwen to Ellsberg. Words in quotations were provided by Ellsberg in a letter included with the donation.

1. 1980, January 15: original typed letter from Nouwen to Ellsberg. YDS letterhead. "At this time I was part of the Catholic Worker community in New York City. I told Henri that I was thinking of becoming a Catholic, having been influenced deeply by my reading of Flannery O'Connor's letters, The Habit of Being, which I reviewed for Sojourners magazine. He refers to seeing Jim Forest in Holland."
2. 1981, January 27: original typed letter from Nouwen to Ellsberg. YDS letterhead. "I was back at Harvard College, completing my undergarduate degree. HN refers to an essay I wrote about John Howard Griffin, eventually published in both the CW and Sojourners. Robert Coles was my advisor at Harvard. HN refers to a gift of the Liturgy of the Hours he had given me after I was received into the church."
3. 1982, June 18: original typed letter from Nouwen to Ellsberg. Abbey of the Genesee letterhead. "An invitation to attend a retreat before his 25th anniversary celebration in Genesee. I did attend this retreat."
4. 1983, January 28: original typed letter from Nouwen to Ellsberg. HDS letterhead. "I was studying Spanish at the Maryknoll language school in Cochabamba, where Henri had previously studied. He introduced me to Gerry McCrane, the Maryknoll priest at the school, at this own jubilee celebration at Genesee in the spring of 1982. I introduced HN to my girlfriend Peggy, a doctoral student at HDS, who ended up befriending him and doing a lot of personal work for him, including editing his book Gracias and his ms. on peacemaking."
5. 1983, February 14: original typed letter from Nouwen to Ellsberg. HDS letterhead. 2 pages. "Henri had been complaining that he had not headrd from me, whereas my letters had been in transit. He refers to John Learly, an extraordinary young man who died suddenly of a heart attack in 1982. I considered him truly a saintly person."
6. 1983, February 16: original typed letter from Nouwen to Ellsberg. HDS letterhead. "HN was at this time at HDS and I told him I had decided to apply for a master's program there. Peggy was divorced - HN refers to the possibility of her getting an annulment (which she did)."
7. 1983, February 22: original typed letter from Nouwen to Ellsberg. HDS letterhead. 2 pages. "HN refers to his friend Richard White, whom he had introduced me to, and with whom I had stayed in Cuernevaca, Mexico."
8. Undated: original hand-written note from Nouwen to Ellsberg.
9. 1983, March 17: original typed letter from Nouwen to Ellsberg. HDS letterhead. 2 pages. "He refers to meeting my father, Daniel Ellsberg. Peggy was planning to visit me in Lima."
10. Undated[1983]: original hand-written note from Nouwen to Ellsberg. Double sided. "This handwritten note acknowledges work I had done for Henri editing some articles about Nicaragua for the National Catholic Reporter. He refers to the publication of my book, By Little and By Little: The Selected Writings of Dorothy Day."
11. 1983, October 18: original typed letter from Nouwen to Robert and Peggy Ellsberg. HDS letterhead.
12. 1984, August 26: original hand-written letter from Nouwen to Ellsberg. Double sided. "I was a student at HDS at this time. HN offers comments on an essay I had written about the ecclesiology of the Nicaraguan church - particularly the conflicts between the Sandinistas and the Vatican. He felt my paper was not sufficiently nuanced. Peggy and I were married at this point."

Robert Ellsberg is the Editor at Orbis books, and the next nineteen letters reflect his business relationship with Henri Nouwen. Robert Ellsberg provided contextual information for the letters:

1. 1988, Sept 12
   This was a year after my arrival at Orbis. Regarding plans for "Walk with Jesus." Henri alludes to the difficulties he had been facing during this time.
2. 1989, March 17
   re "Walk with Jesus"
3. 1989, March 29
   This regards the contract for "Walk with Jesus." Henri had originally said the size of the advance didn't matter. So I was irritated when he complained that the advance of $750 was the lowest advance he had ever received.
4. 1989, September 18
   re "Walk with Jesus." Shows Henri's deep interest in design and all aspects of the publishing process.
5. 1991, July 15
   The Peeters were a Belgian/French family with connections with Vanier and l'Arche.
6. 1991, September 3
   Regrets that he is booked up and can't immediately contemplate another project with Orbis.
7. 1991, October 25
   Thanks for a book I had edited on Ghandi.
8. 1991, December 3
   Thanks for books I had sent him.
9. 1992, January 3
   Interceding for Fred Bratman for help in getting a reply from my father, Daniel Ellsberg (notoriously bad about answering mail).
10. 1992, April 6
    Re plans for a new Orbis edition of "Gracias," and prospects for future work with Orbis.
11. 1993, September 10
    Now we were in conversation about a book on the "Eucharist." ("With Burning Hearts").
12. 1993, October 29
    Re "With Burning Hearts"
13. 1994, January 20
    re the Orbis reprint of "Cry for Mercy." The last paragraph regards a manuscript by Richard Cleaver on a "gay theology of liberation." I was very keen on publishing this but it was nixed by Maryknoll superiors. Henri showed great interest in the book when I described it to him. At first he contemplated writing and endorsement, but then had second thoughts.
14. 1995, March 20
    Henri had mentioned that he never got invitations to speak at Catholic seminaries. I proposed to the president of the Maryknoll School of Theology that they invite Henri to speak at their final graduation ceremony. (The school was closing). He also refers here to my book "All Saints," which was in progress. He became very enthusiastic about this and unsolicited sent a glowing endorsement to the publisher, which was fortunate, since he had died by the time the book was published. I included him among my list of "saints."
15. 1995, April 21
    Henri had asked whether we might be interested in the book that became "Inner Voice of Love." I was skeptical that Orbis could really make a strong case for this, in light of big offers from Nelson and Doubleday.
16. 1995, June 30
    Doug Fisher was producing a video based on "With Burning Hearts."
17. 1996, June 5
    Regarding "Adam"
18. 1996, August 5
    Regarding "Adam"
19. 1996, September 10 (appears to be either a fax or a copy)
    My last letter from Henri. I had sent him a plaque with the cover of "With Burning Hearts." I received this letter after returning from Henri's funeral in Toronto.

Title based on contents of the file.
Ellsberg gathered the material into two separate donations in 2011 and 2012 as part of the Letter Project.

Added by L Whitehead, 26 September 2025
Revised by L Whitehead, 17 October 2025