Accompanied by three letters from Eberhard Alsen, of the State University of New York at Cortland, one to Salinger on the influence of his work, and two to Swami Adiswarananda. These letters were accompanied by photocopies of two articles by Alsen ("The Role of Vedanta Hinduism in Salinger's Seymour Novel" [Renascence, vol. XXXIII, no. 2, Winter 1981] and "'Light-winged Smoke': Thoreau's Apology for His Poetry" [ESQ, vol. 26, 4th Quarter 1980]), both inscribed to Swami Adiswarananda, which have been removed to the collection files.
Acquired with a collection of clippings from the New York Times, Time, and People magazine related to J. D. Salinger, dated 1988-2011. See collection files.
Collection consists of 28 letters from Salinger to Swami Nikhilananda (3), Swami Adiswarananda (2), the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center (23); 12 letters to Salinger from Swami Adiswarananda (7), Dorothy Kruger (1), Priscilla Carden (3), and Swami Vidananda [Barry Zelikovsky] (1); 2 letters from Swami Vidananda [Barry Zelikovsky] to Colleen Salinger; and 2 cards from Colleen Salinger to Swami Vidananda. Correspondence is accompanied by seven envelopes addressed to the Center and three copies of checks issued by J. D. Salinger to the Center. Many letters record donations sent by Salinger to the Center. Letters in the collection have been cataloged individually; see related records for more information.