"Quality is the parent, the source of all subjects and objects." - Robert Pirsig
| "Quality is the parent, the source of all subjects and objects." - Robert Pirsig |
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Pirsig Frequently Asked QuestionsCan You Give Me Pirsig's US Mail or his Email Address? No. He does not want any address given out. However, you may write him care of his publisher at the address below. He usually fully answeres serious questions and is quite prompt to reply: Mr. Robert Pirsig
I Am This Well Known Writer. Will Mr. Pirsig Grant Me An Interview? Unfortunately Mr Pirsig has stated he has granted his last interview. (See link below) Mr Pirsig is a very reclusive person. He genrally shuns contact with strangers and the publc. However, it is conceivably possible that he might conduct an interview by mail. See contct info above.
How many copies of Pirsig's wonderful book have been printed to date?Based on some off-hand statements of Mr. Pirsig, I estimate the copies of ZMM at around 4 million, but I have no idea if this number has any reality. The 19 Nov 06 England Guardian/Observer Pirsig Interview off hand stated 5 million. Where is the author, and is he writing?Mr. Pirsig and his wife are in USA, in a relatively rural area of New England. He stays out or the public eye as much as he can. If people ask him reasonable questions by U. S. mail, he always promptly replies with full answers. But I don't think he is writing any books or articles for publication. You might write to him and suggest he do more writing. He may be reached at his publishers. Address given above. Why Did the ZMM Route End At San Francisco?For a long time I assumed Robert Pirsig's trip goal was to learn more about the Zen Communities of San Francisco, possibly visit the Zen Center. Posted on my ZMM Links Page, Mr. Pirsig stated that the Zen Center did not exist then.
How Did You Get Those Pictures from Pirsig's Trip? Did He Provide Them to You?
I'd Be Interested to Know a Little About You and Your Relationship with Pirsig
I wanted additional "data" to justify (to other possibly concerned university personnel) why I was using ZMM every year in my physics classes. For example, I wanted to find out the names of colleges and universities that used ZMM in their classes. I wanted to learn how they actually used ZMM. I wanted to gather data/testimonials as to ZMM's contribution to their students' overall learning and intellectual maturity. Also, I asked Pirsig about maps of the ZMM Route. Pirsig, in a 9 July 1994 response, stated: "In answer to your question b), I would estimate that somewhere between 10 and 60 percent of colleges and high schools use ZMM in one or more courses. Usually these are literature of philosophy courses, sometimes psychology and sociology --- rarely science. U.S. sales have been running about 100,000 per year for the last 20 years, a really unusual figure. It has been stated in the London Daily Telegraph and by the BBC that ZMM is the 'most widely read philosophy book --- ever'. I give credit to the academic system for this, but I don't have any accurate information on who is using it or where it is being used." As for the maps, he directed me to the map/itinerary in Disanto and Steel's "Guidebook to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Several years later, I found passages from author Owen Barfield (appendix of his book "Poetic Diction") that had very interesting conclusions about "The Subject-Object Split"; it's history, and other ramifications. What Barfield said confirmed what Pirsig had said in ZMM on this same "Subject-Object Split" topic. I sent Xerox copies these passages, with letter of explanation, to Pirsig. I might here add that Owen Barfield (as well as Michael Polanyi) seems to have arrived at many, many, conclusions that agree with Pirsig's major assertions in ZMM. What is very significant to me is that Barfield's and Polanyi's general agreement with Pirsig (on many major points) was achieved independently and by completely different starting points and routes of travel, than those of Pirsig. For these reasons I had hoped that Pirsig might be moved to actually study Barfield. In his reply, Pirsig said that he was glad to hear someone else agreed with him. But I could tell by his reply that he was disinclined to pursue the matter further. Through these years, I wrote perhaps three/four letters to Pirsig requesting information. He fully and promptly answered all of them. When I was making plans to actually travel the "ZMM Route," in early 2002, I began to search diligently for various persons who had already actually traveled the ZMM Route. I wanted to learn what they had found, in preparation for my own ZMM research trip. I wanted to build on what they had found and I did not want to waste time by unnecessarily duplicating their effort. I was able to make a just a few successful contacts and about half of these persons contributed essays for my webpages. I had hoped this would be a way to gain useful ZMM Route information, but overall this approach was disappointing. Given the relative unsuccessful quantity of information found, I finally decided to write Pirsig. The fact that I had gone to considerable effort, as shown in my webpages at that time, must have been convincing to Pirsig, because he was quite helpful. He provided maps, literature resources, and many suggestions. All my correspondance to and from Robert Pirsig may be viewed by clicking either if the two items "To/From Robert Pirsig" at the top of the menu upper left. Many of his contributions are now incorporated into my "Travel Guide to ZMM" and my photo for ZMM Part IV. Click on "Photo Gallery" part way down the menu upper left. I Have Been Hoping to Hear Pirsig's Voice Some Day. Has Someone Posted an MP3 File of Him Speaking?
“Hello Henry, I've found the cassette [of Pirsig’s voice], and it's from [the National Public Radio, NPR] “All Things Considered” program of January 10, 1992. I've listened to it, and Pirsig sounds a lot less scratchy and not quite as "old" as I'd remembered. At first he seems a bit hesitant in conversation, but then really lights up when a topic engages him, such as William James Sidis, or when he explains _koan_ to the interviewer, or when he reads from [Pirsig’s new book] “Lila” Much of the interview, of course, is focused on “Lila”, as it had just come out a few months previously, and it's interesting to hear him discuss his conception of the book. The program came on two cassettes, and the interview is about 10 or so minutes in on side 2 of the first cassette. (For ease of reference, only the first cassette has sides 1 and 2; the other is
Webmaster Master Henry Gurr replies: Here are my thoughts, after hearing this NPR Program: Very, very interesting. Very valuable!! Excellent! It is a very good interview! Pirsig was really primed and has strong delivery on a whole string of ideas. I did not know and I NEED to know much of what he said!! He has a very strong "stage delivery"! I did not expect this. Also he has a "zest " >for living that is admirable! I some-how had expected that all his personal problems trashed through in ZMM, would have drained away all his ‘get up and go’. Also, 15 years to write Lila is a long time!!! I agree--when Pirsig gets fired up, it's obvious that these ideas still engage him. I told the person who sent me that information that I would eventually contact NPR, to see if they would allow an mp3 file of that interview program to be available on the web. In the meantime, Gary Wegner has directed me to the 1992 NPR interview and a 1974 interview online. Gary has kindly posted links to these interviews on the Wikipedia entry for ZMM as well. To hear Noah Adams’ 1992 NPR interview of Pirsig, go here:
An additional NPR interview of Pirsig by Connie Goldman from July 12, 1974 has surfaced as well:
An interesting interview of Pirsig (long version) appears at http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1952011,00.html Pirsig Interviewer, Tim Adams', own summary & observations re the above interesting interview of Pirsig is at
If anyone runs across any other recordings of Pirsig, please contact me at henryg**usca.edu. What is the Correct Model and Number of Mr. Pirsig's Motorcycle Shown in the Photographs on Your ZMM Quality.org Gallery? Mr. Ken Steiner writes the following: "I would like to mention that the motorcycle in the first photo is identified as a Honda CB360. The correct designation is a CB 77 305 Super Hawk. I believe the CB360 was manufactured at a much later date. …. The [links below] provides a photo of the CB360 and additional descriptive information. The Honda CB360 was manufactured from 1974 to 1976. I had rebuilt and owned a 1966 Honda CL77 305, This is a very similar bike to the CB77 pictured on the web-photo. They use the same engine, but the CB77 frame is configured for street and trip use while the CL77 is more of a sport bike that can be used off-road. In any case the photo is not that of a CB360. See http://www.vjmw.org/tests/CB360.htm Here is a link depicting the CB77: http://www.honda305.com/cb77_000/cb77-006.htm Webmaster Master Henry Gurr replies: The captions of those 12 pictures from Mr. Pirsig were written by him personally except for my additions in [brackets]. The designation = " A. ”CB360_~l.TIF" was the original computer file name that went with that picture. It was his own abbreviation to indicate in his computer files which-picture-was-what. I believe he used this same abbreviation in each of the photo captions as he composed them prior to sending them to me. And that is the caption I placed on each of those 12 pictures you saw on my web gallery. I have seen the designation as "305 Super Hawk" or "Honda 305cc CB77", several places on the web, and I believe both of these to be correct. To obtain more good information and internet links re this cycle, go the menu at upper left and click on "ZMM Links". Scroll down to the 3/4 point on this page for History & Information re Honda 305. Where May I View a Photo of Robert Pirsig's Former Minneapolis Home?
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