Who Was Alan Watts?

Alan Watts (1915-1973) was a philosopher, writer, and speaker.  He wrote over twenty books and numerous articles on subjects such as personal identity, the true nature of reality, and the pursuit of happiness, relating his experience to scientific knowledge and to the teachings of Eastern and Western religions and philosophies.  He also gave many lectures, seminars, and radio talks which are now on audio tape, and a number of TV and film talks which are now on videotape.

The following sections are provided as a public service for people seeking information about Alan Watts and his works.  This is a nonprofit Website with no business connection to any of the works, companies, or Websites listed.  Please note that although efforts have been made to provide accurate information, no guarantee as to such can be made.  This Website does not condone violations of copyright law.

Bibliography:

• The Spirit of Zen (1936)
• The Legacy of Asia and Western Man (1937)
• The Meaning of Happiness (1940)
• The Theologica Mystica of St. Dionysius (1944) (translation)
• Behold the Spirit (1948)
• Easter - Its Story and Meaning (1950)
• The Supreme Identity (1950)
• The Wisdom of Insecurity (1951)
• Myth and Ritual in Christianity (1953)
• The Way of Zen (1957)
• Nature, Man, and Woman (1958)
• "This Is It" and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience (1960)
• Psychotherapy East and West (1961)
• The Joyous Cosmology - Adventures in the Chemistry of Consciousness (1962)
• The Two Hands of God - The Myths of Polarity (1963)
• Beyond Theology - The Art of Godmanship (1964)
• The Book - On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are (1966)
• Nonsense (1967)
• Does It Matter? - Essays on Man's Relation to Materiality (1970)
• Erotic Spirituality - The Vision of Konarak (1971)
• The Art of Contemplation (1972)
• In My Own Way - An Autobiography 1915-1965 (1972)
• Cloud-hidden, Whereabouts Unknown - A Mountain Journal (1973)
• Tao: The Watercourse Way (unfinished at the time of his death in 1973 - published in 1975)
• The Early Writings of Alan Watts (1987)
• The Modern Mystic: A New Collection of Early Writings (1990)

In addition, a number of books have been published since his death that contain transcripts of recorded lectures and/or articles not included in the above.  They include:

• The Essence of Alan Watts (1974)
• Essential Alan Watts (1976)
• Uncarved Block, Unbleached Silk: The Mystery of Life (1978)
• Om: Creative Meditations (1979)
• Play to Live (1982)
• Way of Liberation: Essays and Lectures on the Transformation of the Self (1983)
• Out of the Trap (1985)
• Diamond Web (1986)
• Talking Zen (1994)
• Become Who You Are (1995)
• Buddhism: The Religion of No-Religion (1995)
• The Philosophies of Asia (1995)
• The Tao of Philosophy (1995)
• Myth and Religion (1996)
• Taoism: Way Beyond Seeking (1997)
• Zen and the Beat Way (1997)
• Culture of Counterculture (1998)

Sources of Recordings:

Recordings of Alan Watts can be ordered from several sources.  Two outlets that specialize in them are:

Alan Watts Electronic University
P.O. Box 2309
San Anselmo, CA USA 94979
1-415-459-4576
1-415-459-7670 (fax)
1-800-96-WATTS (toll free)
e-mail:  watts@alanwatts.com
World Wide Web:  http://www.alanwatts.com

M.E.A. (Mastering Enlightenments Arts)
P.O. Box 303
Olema, CA USA 94950
1-800-75-WATTS (toll free number for placing orders)
e-mail:  webmaster@wattstapes.com
World Wide Web:  http://www.wattstapes.com

Additional recordings may also be gotten from:

Hartley Film Foundation, Inc.
49 Richmondville Avenue -- Suite 204
Westport, CT USA 06880
1-203-226-9500
1-203-227-6938 (fax)
1-800-937-1819 (toll free)
e-mail:  CustomerService@HartleyVideos.org
World Wide Web:  http://www.hartleyvideos.org

Mystic Fire
P.O. Box 422
New York, NY USA 10012-0008
1-212-941-0999 (general office)
1-212-941-1443 (fax)
1-800-292-9001 (toll free number for consumer orders)
1-800-999-1319 (toll free number for wholesale orders)
e-mail:  mysticfire@echonyc.com
World Wide Web:  http://www.mysticfire.com

Pacifica Radio Archive
3729 Cahuenga Boulevard West
North Hollywood, CA USA 91604
1-818-506-1077
1-800-735-0230 (toll free)
e-mail:  ppspacific@pacifica.org
World Wide Web:
    http://www.igc.org/pacifica
    http://www.igc.org/pacifica/radio_archives

Special Interest Book and Video
P.O. Box 1818
Sebastopol, CA USA 95473
1-707-823-3063
1-707-829-9542 (fax)
1-800-9-TANTRA (toll free)
e-mail:  e-sensuals@tantra.com
World Wide Web:  http://www.tantra.com

Wellspring Media
65 Bleecker Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10012
1-212-674-4912
1-212-425-1790 (fax)
1-800-538-5856 (toll free)
e-mail:  mail@wellmedia.com
World Wide Web:
    http://www.wellmedia.com
    http://www.wellmedia.com/collection/spirit/zen.html
    http://www.wellmedia.com/collection/spirit/wattmed.html
    http://www.videocollection.com
    http://www.videocollection.com/mindbody/mindbody6.html#zen
    http://www.videocollection.com/mindbody/mindbody15.html#essen

In addition, Alan Watts made at least two record albums:

• Om:  The Sound of Hinduism (1967); and
• Why Not Now: Dhyana, The Art of Meditation (two record set) (1969)

In 1995, "Om:  The Sound of Hinduism" was re-released on compact disc by Infinite Zero/American Recordings, however it appears to be unavailable at this time.

Radio Broadcasts:

Radio broadcasts featuring recordings of Alan Watts can be heard in the following U.S. cities:

Watts on the Web:

• Radio station KPFK-FM, which broadcasts in the Los Angeles area and airs Alan Watts tapes twice a week - on Sundays from 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. and on Thursdays (actually Fridays) from around Midnight to 1:00 a.m., Pacific Time - also broadcasts simultaneously on the World Wide Web via RealAudio.  To listen, point your Web browser to KPFK-FM and click on "Listen Live".

On Thursday nights the tapes are played during the "Something's Happening" show, which airs Monday-Thursday from Midnight to 5:30 a.m.  To subscribe to the Something's Happening Program Guide, which is sent out every weekend with program information for the coming week, go to the Something's Happening Website and follow the instructions to sign up.

• Radio station WMNF-FM, which broadcasts in the Tampa, Florida, area and airs Alan Watts tapes on Wednesdays starting at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time, also broadcasts simultaneously on the World Wide Web.  To listen, point your Web browser to:

    http://www.wmnf.org

• DRCNet's Drug Policy Library contains a number of Watts' works on the drug issue.

The entire text (but not the photographs) of the 1970 revised edition of "The Joyous Cosmology..." (in which Watts added several pages to the Prologue of the original 1962 edition) is at:

    http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/jccontnt.htm

In addition, two articles by Watts:

• Psychedelics and the Religious Experience (from the book "Does It Matter?..."); and
• The New Alchemy (from the book "This Is It...")

are at:

    http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/relmenu.htm
        and
    http://www.psychedelic-library.org/relmenu.htm

Another article by Watts:

    A Psychedelic Experience - Fact or Fantasy?
    (from "LSD, The Consciousness-Expanding Drug," David Solomon, Editor, 1964)

is at:

    http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/watts2.htm
        and
    http://www.psychedelic-library.org/watts2.htm

And an excerpt from "In My Own Way..." is at:

    http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/wattsbio.htm
        and
    http://www.psychedelic-library.org/wattsbio.htm

• An excerpt from a dialogue featuring Alan Watts, Timothy Leary, Gary Snyder, and Allen Ginsberg, originally published in the San Francisco Oracle in 1967, is at:

    http://www.sirius.com/~regent/oracle.html

• There are two Alan Watts Groups at Yahoo.com. The URLs are:

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alan_watts_abides

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlanWatts

• There's also an Alan Watts Group at MSN:

    http://www.msnusers.com/TheContinuanceofAlanWattsPhilosophy

• The Alan Watts Mailing List archives are at:

    http://www.alanwatts.net/list

Please send corrections and updates on the above information to admin@alanwatts.net.