Watts, Alan

Beat Zen Square Zen and Zen

San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books, 1959. First Edition. Stapled Wrappers. "To the westerner in search of the reintegration of man and nature there is an appeal far beyond the merely sentimental in the naturalism of Zen- in the landscapes of Ma-yuan and Sesshu, in an art which is simultaneously spiritual and secular, which conveys the mystical in terms of the natural, and which, indeed, never even imagined a break between them. Here is a view of the world imparting a profoundly refreshing sense of wholeness to a culture in which the spiritual and the material, the conscious and the unconscious, have been cataclysmically split." (from pg. 4) A key earlier essay on Eastern philosophical & religious concepts translated for the minds of Western readers by Alan Watts (1915-1973), the British-born American author & philosopher who famously interpreted & popularized Eastern religion & philosophy for Westerners. Watts was associated with the Beat Generation as well as the 1960s counterculture it segued into. As noted by Watts in his Foreword, this essay "...first appeared in the Chicago Review for the Summer of 1958, and is now republished...To the present version, however, certain additions have been made, because this seemed to be a good context in which to discuss the influence of Zen on Western Art, and because the original was published before the appearance of (Jack) Kerouac's Dharma Bums." Chapbook-format booklet in stapled wrappers, first edition, early but probably not first printing per Cook, No. 15, pgs. 17-18- which notes that the first printing is distinguishable by its letterpress printing, this copy appears to us to be photo-offset as subsequent printings were produced. A production of the iconic City LIghts imprint, appropriately at the height of its association with the now-classic works of the Beat Generation. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who was the manager of the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England founded by Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American-expatriate poet, bookseller & publisher). From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, Unicorn proffered & published many outstanding productions by Willaim S. Burroughs, J.G. Ballard et al., some of which have become the scarcest, all-but-unobtainable Beat-&-Beyond collectibles (see for example our item No.s 8217, 8366). After prevailing against censorious harassment efforts, Unicorn closed & Butler died in short order. Cupidi went on to found the Public House Bookshop in Brighton, which had a long & successful run but which also has now closed, & he still resides there. We have been privileged to obtain what cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining gems of Unicorn & Public House, including this. Third Mind Books proceeds to reverently curate & incrementally present the Butler-Cupidi-Unicorn-Public House Legacy which is in our custodial hands- until it passes to yours. A foundational Watts collectible in its likely penultimately rarest contemporary separate/expanded form, with most-distinguished & relevant provenance. See also Item No.s 7892 & 9180. In relatively quite near-fine condition with mild-to-moderate rubbing, faint scratching, age-toning & spotting to front, back covers & stapled spine; a hint of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of same; staples in process of rusting with minimal exterior & interior bleeding; mild-to-moderate rubbing, age-toning & spotting to edges of text block. Interior relatively near-fine-to-fine with mild rubbing, age-toning & spotting to blank inner covers; small sticker of previous seller (neither Unicorn nor Public house, but The Grail in Edinburgh, Scotland) at lower left area of inner front cover; former price in British currency in pencil at upper right area of title page (recto first leaf), retained as a quaint relic of its Unicorn-related heritage; a touch of age-toning chiefly at blank margins/edges of page leaves; tiny bumps at corners of some leaves. Near Fine. [Item #9182]

Price: $50.00