1954-1957. All items addressed to his friend Margaret Lial. The first typed letter signed is dated June 7, 1954, and it finds Watts preparing to visit Lial in Big Sur. Among other things he inquires as to whether she has a tent but lists items he will be bringing, down to the "liberal supply of charcoal." He thanks her for being willing to harbor "a bunch of gypsies" and says "I have had too much work to do and am good and ready to loaf." Approximately 250 words, with envelope. The second typed letter signed, post-visit, is dated July 23, 1954 and begins: "Coming back to work from Big Sur was like walking into a herd of elephants doing the rumba." He informs Lial of his next venture in her direction, for a lecture-series on the subject "The Psychology of Awakening," and he inquires whether this would also be a good time for a "select" session on the subject of the Tantra. Watts further inquires about a piece of land he had found "delectable" and invites Lial ("and Janet") up to see "marvelous Kathakali dancers." Again, approximately 250 words, with envelope. On July 28, Watts sends Lial an autograph note signed acknowledging that he will be expecting her and Janet for the Hindu dancers and will give her details. Also included here is a hand-drawn map to an address on "Birch" in this lot, but it is unknown if it corresponds to this occasion. In February 1957, Watts sends Lial a typed letter signed wondering about the possibility of another lecture in Carmel, having just returned from talking in LA and San Diego and expecting to do the same in New York when his new book [The Way of Zen] comes out. Approximately 100 words, with envelope. Together with (in addition to the above-mentioned map) a printed invitation to a New Year's Day housewarming party (no year given); a printed bookmark-sized greeting of indeterminate nature ("From Alan Dorothy Joan Ann Tia & Mark Watts / At midnight the sun brightly shines"); and, lastly, a printed card announcing Watts's 1974 memorial service and interment of ashes, signed by John Watts; with envelope addressed to Lial. All items are near fine or better. Watts was for three decades the foremost exponent of Zen Buddhism and other eastern religions to Western audiences, including the readers of his books and, apparently, the attendees of his many talks and lectures. His letters are written on the letterhead of The American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco, where he taught for six years in the 1950s, sometimes as much as fourteen hours a day. Watts called the Academy "one of the principal roots of what later came to be known, in the early sixties, as the San Francisco Renaissance." [#030874] SOLD