Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker - (Catholic Practice in North America) (Hardcover)

About the Book

A portrait of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement in New York City through photographs taken in 1955 by Vivian Cherry, a documentary photographer, accompanied by excerpts of Dorothy Day's writings selected and edited by her granddaughter, Kate Hennessy.

Book Synopsis

Compelling and prophetic, Dorothy Day is one of the most enduring icons of American Catholicism. In the depths of the Great Depression and guided by the Works of Mercy, Day, a journalist at the time, published a newspaper, the Catholic Worker, and co-founded a movement dedicated to the poorest of the poor, while living with them and sharing their poverty.

In 1955, Vivian Cherry, a documentary photographer known for her disturbing and insightful work portraying social issues, was given unprecedented access to the Catholic Worker house of hospitality in New York City, its two farms, and to Day herself. While much has been written about Day, the portrait that emerges from Cherry's intimate lens is unrivaled. From the image of the line of men waiting for soup outside St. Joseph's on Chrystie Street to pictures of Day and others at work and in prayer, Cherry's photographs offer a uniquely personal and poetic glimpse into the life of the movement and its founder.

In this beautiful new book, more than sixty photographs--many published here for the first time--are accompanied by excerpts of Day's writings gleaned from her column "On Pilgrimage" and other articles published in the Catholic Worker between 1933 and 1980. The result is a powerful visual and textual memoir capturing the life and times of one of the most significant and influential North American Catholics of the twentieth century. The aptly paired images and words bring new life to Day's political and personal passions and reflect with clarity and simplicity the essential work and philosophies of the Catholic Worker, which continue to thrive today. The Introduction and additional commentary by Day's granddaughter Kate Hennessy
provides rich contextual information about the two women and what she sees as their collaboration in this book.

In 2000, twenty years after her death, Archbishop of New York John J. O'Connor of New York City opened the cause for Dorothy Day's canonization, and the Vatican conferred on her the title of Servant of God. The Catholic Worker continues to flourish, with more than 200 affiliated houses in the United States and overseas. The miracle of this enduring appeal lies in Day's unique paradigm of vision, conscience, and a life of sacrifice that is one not of martyrdom but of joy, richness, and generosity--vividly portrayed through these photographs and excerpts.

Review Quotes

To read Dorothy Day is to be challenged to (and then accompanied on) a personal journey whose destination is a life structured in accordance with social justice. Dip into these excerpts from her work anywhere, and you will find memorable meditations on her life in the activist Catholic Worker community she founded in service to the poor... this is a fine window on an American saint in her prime.-- "Rain Taxi"

Dorothy Day had a keen sense of the power of the image, and of the power of her image, and this means that Vivian Cherry's photographs are part of an extensive collection of photographs of Day and the Catholic Worker. But the strongest of these photographs show her as she isn't seen often enough: sitting with guests around a table, passing time with grandchildren, paying bills, taking out the mail, selling the paper alongside a Sabrett's hot-dog vendor. The photograph of her smiling--beaming, really--shows that delight was not a duty for her: It was a strong, natural, everyday feeling.---Paul Elie, author of The Life You Save May Be Your Own and Reinventing Bach

This book is a magic lantern that brings Dorothy Day to life in all her miraculous humanity. Vivian Cherry's photographs and Kate Hennessy's moving text capture Day, with striking intimacy, in all the roles that defined her: as a woman of prayer and protest, companion of the poor, doting grandmother, and leader of the Catholic Worker family. Together with selections from Day's own writings, they transport us into a world in which seemingly ordinary people have tried, with extraordinary faith, to live as if the gospel were true.---Robert Ellsberg, editor of Dorothy Day: Selected Writings

About the Author

Vivian Cherry is a photographer whose work is in the permanent collections of many galleries and museums, including the Smithsonian and the Museum of Modern Art.

Dorothy Day was born in in Brooklyn on November 8, 1897, and died in New York City on November 29, 1980. She is most known for establishing the Catholic Worker movement and devoting her life to helping and fighting for the poor. She also served as the editor of the Catholic Worker newspaper from 1933 to 1980. She has cemented herself as the iconic Catholic and New Yorker.

Kate Hennessy, a writer living in Vermont, is the youngest of Dorothy Day's nine grandchildren.