1971-1977. Two autograph letters signed (4 pp. and 2 pp.) and two typed letters signed (4 pp. and 1 p.), written to her contacts at her U.S. publisher, Houghton Mifflin. In the first letter, from 1971 (just prior to the publication of her Collected Stories, although the latter is mis-dated "1970"), Lavin goes to great lengths to help inform the publicity for her book, hoping that it will reflect her seriousness of intent and noting that what she looks for in a short story is "such light it may throw on the mysteries of existence"; as such the reader does not need to know what the included stories are about, but rather "the tradition from which I stem." She wonders why the attention paid to her has been less than that of Jean Stafford, Eudora Welty, Katherine Anne Porter, and although she acknowledges that she has benefited from neglect, she needs this book to receive attention as more than one to share with a friend. "I would NEVER think of a book as something nice or pleasant to give to a friend. I would think of any book I valued almost as I would think of a loaded pistol with which the other person might well blow out his brains if he wasn't prepared..." The correspondence resumes in 1977, as HM was publishing The Shrine and Other Stories, with a scathing letter on the "namby-pambiness" of the suggested author bio, asking that more mention be made of the awards she has won. There are an additional two letters commenting on her author photo and repeatedly asking that mention of her novels be omitted: "...just plug my position in the world of the short story, translated into almost every major language etc." Also included here are transcriptions of her two hand-written letters; a heavily hand-corrected typewritten biographical statement (likely not by Lavin), two retained copies of letters to her, and the author's CV. The lot is near fine. [#036710] $850