Spotlight on Pirsig’s Talk from 1974

As we organise permanent archive linkage of all the Pirsig-related resources available to the RPA, both textual and audio-visual, we cannot emphasise highly enough how valuable is the recording of the talk Bob gave to the Minneapolis College of Art, just a few weeks after the publication and meteoric success of ZMM in 1974.

Transcribed extracts are also included in “On Quality”, the selection published in 2022, a paperback edition of which is released next month on April 9th. The magnetic-video-tape was only discovered by his widow Wendy when archiving his work, then digitised and published on YouTube (link embedded above) by son Ted in late 2022. (Post Note: extracts from this talk with additional commentary and interviews are included in the upcoming BBC Radio “Archive-on-4” documentary “Turning 50: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance“)

Direct from the horse’s-mouth at the very time he was most focussed on his intended messages. The media-technology is part of the message, as is the creative process itself. Highly recommended.

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