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William Morrow & Co executive editor Peter Hubbard said in a
statement that Pirsig's wife Wendy had confirmed his death at
his home in Maine "after a period of failing health."
Published in 1974 after being rejected by more than 100 other
publishers, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," was the
father-son story of a motor-cycle trip across the western United
States. Loosely autobiographical, it also contained flashbacks
to a period in which the author was diagnosed as schizophrenic.
The book quickly became a best-seller. Pirsig said its
protagonist "set out to resolve the conflict between classic
values that create machinery, such as a motorcycle, and romantic
values, such as experiencing the beauty of a country road."
Born in Minneapolis, Pirsig had a high IQ and graduated high
school at the age of 15. He earned a degree in philosophy and
also worked as a technical writer and instructor of English
before being hospitalized for mental illness in the early 1960s.
His philosophical thinking and personal experiences during these
years, including a 1968 motorcycle trip across the U.S. West
with his eldest son, Christopher, formed the core of the
narrative of the novel.
Pirsig worked on the sequel, "Lila: An Inquiry into Morals" for
17 years before its publication in 1991. The story traced a
sailboat journey taken by two fictitious characters along
America’s eastern coast.
Pirsig lived the last 30 years in South Berwick, Maine and is
survived by his wife Wendy, two children and three
grandchildren. His son Chris died in 1979.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Chris Reese)
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