Forest, Jim, 1941-2022

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James H. "Jim" Forest was born on November 2, 1941. His parents were both atheist communists, and Forest converted to Catholicism as an adult. He discovered the work of Dorothy Day while serving in the Navy, and it inspired him to leave the Navy in 1961 as a conscientious objector, and become involved with Day's Catholic Worker community, working as managing editor of the Catholic Worker newspaper. It was also during this time that he became acquainted with Thomas Merton. Dorothy Day encouraged Forest to write to Merton, and the correspondence established a friendship. In the mid-1960s, Forest visited Merton in Kentucky, thinking of moving on from the Catholic Worker to become a monastic, though he ultimately did not follow that path. Merton dedicated his book Faith and Violence (1968) to Forest.

In the mid-1960s Forest founded the Catholic Peace Fellowship alongside Daniel Berrigan, SJ. Later he worked for the Fellowship of Reconciliation. It was through this work that Forest became acquainted with Vietnamese Zen master Thích Nhất Hạnh. From 1969-1970 he served a short prison sentence as a consequence of his involvement in the "Milwaukee Fourteen," a group of Catholic priests and lay people who burned draft cards stolen from the Brumder Building in Milwaukee. In 1977, Forest moved with his family to the Netherlands, where he served as General Secretary for the International Fellowship of Reconciliation and continued his involvement in the peace movement, focusing on the Cold War and nuclear disarmament. In 1988, he joined the Russian Orthodox Church, and eventually founded the Orthodox Peace Fellowship.

Throughout his career, Forest wrote about pacifism and important figures in the peace movement. His published work includes Living with Wisdom: A Biography of Thomas Merton; Love is the Measure: A Biography of Dorothy Day; Praying with Icons; and The Ladder of the Beatitudes.

Jim Forest died on January 13, 2022 in Alkmaar, the Netherlands.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Catholic Peace Fellowship. Records, 1962-[ongoing]. University of Notre Dame, Hesburgh Library
referencedIn Papers, 1908-1985 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Fellowship of Reconciliation Collected Records Swarthmore College, Peace Collection, SCPC
referencedIn Dorothy Day - Catholic Worker Collection, 1897-[ongoing], bulk 1933-[ongoing]. Marquette University Raynor Memorial Library, John P. Raynor Library
creatorOf Dear, John, 1959-. Papers, 1979- Swarthmore College, Peace Collection, SCPC
referencedIn New Directions Publishing records Houghton Library
creatorOf McReynolds, David. David McReynolds papers, 1943-1978. Swarthmore College, Peace Collection, SCPC
creatorOf Jim Forest Papers Boston College. John J. Burns Library
referencedIn Vera Zorina papers Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
creatorOf Eichenberg, Fritz, 1901-1990. Correspondence, 1976-1991. Getty Research Institute
referencedIn Deming, Barbara, 1917-1984. Papers: Series I-III, 1908-1985 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith BARBARA DEMING, 1917-1984 person
correspondedWith Berrigan, Daniel person
memberOf Catholic Church corporateBody
founderOf Catholic Peace Fellowship. corporateBody
memberOf Catholic Worker Movement. corporateBody
correspondedWith Day, Dorothy, 1897-1980 person
associatedWith Dear, John, 1959- person
associatedWith Deming, Barbara, 1917-1984. person
associatedWith Eichenberg, Fritz, 1901-1990. person
memberOf Fellowship of Reconciliation (U.S.) corporateBody
associatedWith McReynolds, David. person
correspondedWith Merton, Thomas, 1915-1968. person
correspondedWith New Directions Publishing Corp. corporateBody
correspondedWith Nhât Hạnh, Thích person
memberOf Russian Orthodox Church corporateBody
correspondedWith Zorina, Vera. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York City NY US
Kingdom of the Netherlands 00 NL
Socialist Republic of Vietnam 00 VN
Subject
Catholic Church
Catholic Worker Movement
Cold War
Nuclear disarmament
Pacifism
Russian Orthodox Church
Vietnam War
Occupation
Activist
Author
Biographers
Pacifists
Activity

Person

Birth 1941-11-02

Death 2022-01-13

English

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