Turning 50: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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Archive on 4: Turning 50: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

BBC Radio 4 - Archive on 4, Turning 50: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Christopher Harding journeys through the legacy of Robert Pirsig's cult classic.

Half a century on from its publication, Christopher Harding journeys through Robert Pirsig's cult classic to discover the quality that keeps people reading the book today.

The stories say it was rejected by 121 publishers, reaching the Guinness Book of Records. After finally being published, Robert Pirsig's 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', became an era defining text. The story of a man's motorbike trip across the American West soon appeared in college dorm rooms and on bedside cabinets around the world, but what was it about Pirsig's book that captivated readers?

Part travelogue, part philosophical treatise into the nature of 'quality'. It's a spiritual quest on two wheels, powered by Eastern and Western philosophy and a fragile father-son bond. A fan of the book since he was a teenager, cultural historian and broadcaster Christopher Harding speaks to fellow devotees, about what the book means to them and how two of its greatest themes speak to us now more than ever.  The first is Pirsig's conviction that at the root of much mental illness - his own included - lies a crisis of meaning. No creed or ideology can solve this, he thought; the answer is a renewed way of living that infuses every aspect of a person's life. Pirsig's second great theme is another major concern of our times: a crisis of masculinity, often playing out in fractured relationships between fathers and sons. 

Chris' journey includes archive interviews with Robert Pirsig and landmarks of the book's cultural impact.  It also features a lecture by Pirsig, given in 1974, that has never been broadcast before. Chris interviews Wendy Pirsig, Robert's wife and Jim Landis, the editor of the book. He also speaks to others who have been influence by the book, including the philosopher Jonathan Rowson, the actor Rufus Hound and the poet Ann Tweedy.

Contributors:
Wendy Pirsig, Archivist and widow of Robert Pirsig
Jim Landis, Editor of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Jonathan Rowson, Philosopher and Chief Executive of the Charity Perspectiva
Ann Tweedy, Poet and Law Professor, University of South Dakota
Rufus hound, actor and Comedian

Archive Credits:
'The Young and the Restless' (2010) CBS
Robert Pirsig Lecture at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (1974), the Pirsig family.
Robert Pirsig interview (1974) NPR
With thanks to the Robert Pirsig Association

Presented by Chris Harding
Produced by Sam Peach & Luke Mulhall
Research by Tyler Hall
Readings by Juliana Lisk

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