From: Valence (valence10@hotmail.com)
Date: Thu Jun 19 2003 - 23:53:52 BST
Hey Ian, Erin and all,
IAN
> .... was wondering if there was any good biographical material other than
> all the clues we get in ZAMM and Lila. I notice the Guide to ZAMM is good
on
> details of the journey and analysis of the book itself, but adds very
little
> biographical detail. Surely someone has done the public record research
> before, even if Bob himself declines interviews. He's too important not to
> get this kind of attention surely ?
>
> (I was taken that Bob himself believed he needed to research William James
> biography before linking his work to his own, and I was taking a similar
> approach. I'm convinced by Pirsig, I just believe I need a clearer
> understanding of the man - who is after all the measure of all things.)
>
RICK
Years ago I did a search on Pirsig in an index computer in a public library
and got a whole bio on him. I printed it out and managed to save the first
few pages. For what it's worth, here's some highlights:
PERSONAL: Born 9/6/28 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US; son of Maynard Ernest
(a professor) and Harriet Marie (Sjobeck) Pirsig; married Nancy Ann James
(an administrator), 5/10/54 (divorced 8/78); married Wendy L. Kimball,
12/28/78; children: (first marriage) Chistopher (deceased 12/17/79),
Theodore; (second marriage) Nell.
EDUCATION: U of Minnesota, BA, 1950, MA, 1958.
CAREER: Montana State College (now University), Bozeman, instructor in
English Composition, 1959-61; U of Illinois, Chicago, instructor in
rhetoric, 1961-62; technical writer at several Minneapolis, MN, electronic
firms, 1963-67; Century Publications, Minneapolis Minn, contract technical
writer, 1967-73; writer. Minnestoa Zen Meditation Center, member of Board
of Directors, 1973---?, vice-president, 1973-75.
MILITARY SERVICE: U.S. Army, 1946-48.
AWARDS/HONORS: Guggenheim fellowship, 1974; Friends of literature Award,
1975; outstanding acheivement award, U of Minnesota, 1975; American Academy
and Institute of Arts and Letters Award, 1979.
WRITINGS: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values
(1974); LILA: An Inquiry into Morals (1991); (---there are some articles
I've omitted and Pirsig has also recently written a Legal Textbook on
Minnesota Civil Procedure---R.).
take care
rick
I don't want to achieve immortality through my work.I want to achieve it
through not dying. - Woody Allen
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