From: moq@fsmail.net
Date: Fri Jul 04 2003 - 11:44:21 BST
Rick said:
> Hey again Ian,
> I remembered that our old-forum cohort Anthony McWatt once pointed out "The
> first academic paper Pirsig wrote on Quality was 'Quality in Freshman Composition'
> delivered at the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association regional convention
> on October 13th 1961." This would probably place Pirsig's thoughts on Quality
> around 59 when he started teaching rhetoric...
Ian said:
> As a newbie I'm presuming I'm still allowed to ask naive questions.... ;-)
> I cannot find any categorical statements about the year of the ZMM trip. Some infer 1967, some
1968.
> A point I find intriguing is that if it was 1968 (as can easily be inferred from the 25th >
edition notes, including the 1968 letters between Pirsig and the publisher), then he
> had the publication of a book planned before he made the trip, which will cast a
> whole new light next time I re-read it.
> So was it 1968, or was it '67 ?
Dear Ian,
As an "old forum-cohort" from '98, I can tell you that the ZMM trip occurred in '68.
Further confirmation for this is given by Pirsig himself on Henry Gurr's website devoted to the
ZMM route at:
www.zmmquality.org
In the photo gallery section, Pirsig states the following below PHOTOGRAPH G "TROUTD~1.TIF":
Gennie DeWeese and neighbor's boy.--This is how Gennie looked in the summer of '68. The scene is
described in Chap. 14 where Gennie says, “Some neighbors just came over with a mess of trout for
dinner. I'm so pleased. ‘I try to think of something appropriate to say, but just nod.’” Gennie
told me later she would never have said a thing like that, but it was too late to change it.
[ZMM page 138]
BTW, Henry Gurr has said to me recently that his site has only had relatively few visitors.
This seems a pity as it has a number of high quality photographs taken by Pirsig on the actual
trip in 1968 as well as more recent photographs taken by Gurr of the ZMM route. Gurr is also
developing a number of interesting sections such as "ZMM Stories" (e.g. Thomas J. Steele's
account of his visit to the De Weeses in 1987) and "ZMM Oral History". It's definitely worth
checking out.
Finally, to briefly add to Rick's useful comment about Verne Dusenberry. The biography he cites
is actually derived from a more detailed one at the Montana State University Library's website
at:
http://www.lib.montana.edu/collect/spcoll/findaid/85015.html#Contents
In addition, I recently discovered that Dusenberry's 1962 Ph.D. (“The Montana Cree: A Study in
Religious Persistence”) is available on Amazon.com with a new 1998 preface by his daughter
Lynne. The preface mentions LILA and gives some added insight into why Pirsig featured
Dusenberry in his book.
I hope the above is some help to you, Ian!
Best wishes,
Anthony McWatt
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