In Search of Guthlac

Current Archaeology offers an article titled “In search of Guthlac, Crowland’s early medieval hermit,” byline “Excavations in Crowland, Lincolnshire, are exploring the remains of a structure that might be linked to an Anglo-Saxon anchorite.”

While Crowland has been traditionally assumed to be Guthlac’s home, a nearby site at the suggestively-named Anchor Church Field is now the subject of archaeological attention, turning up remarkable ceramics and bone, plus evidence of a large structure.

URL: https://the-past.com/news/in-search-of-guthlac-crowlands-early-medieval-hermit/

Women Hermits of NYC

An article by Xintiang Wang in a recent issue of The Daily Beast describes women hermits in New York City and around the world, living in congested cities but successfully and contentedly pursuing solitary lives and personal interests. The article title: “Meet the ‘Hermettes’: A Secret Society of Women Who Prefer to Be Left Alone.”

The article mentions The Book of Hermits. The book author exchanged correspondence with the article author, adddressing information about women solitaries in history and psychology. The article captures the eccentric flare and the single-mindedness of the “hermettes.”

URL: https://www.thedailybeast.com/meet-the-hermettes-a-secret-society-of-women-who-prefer-to-be-left-alone

Aloneness – PsychologyToday

Three recent essays in Psychology Today constructively addess the subject of aloneness:

1, Choosing to Spend Time Alone;
2. Why Being (Alone) in Nature Is Good for You;
3. How Aloneness Can Lessen Loneliness.
URLs:
1. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happy-singlehood/202203/choosing-spend-time-alone;
2. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/solitude-in-social-world/202203/why-being-alone-in-nature-is-good-you;
3. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-case-connection/202203/how-aloneness-can-lessen-loneliness

Emma Orbach – update

The Independent offers this “Interview with Earth Prophet Emma Orbach.” The interview was conducted via mail, since Emma has no electricity or modern devices. From the interview:

“Over twenty years ago, Emma Orbach made the decision to leave the modern world behind.

She lives in the Welsh woodlands on her own land, at the base of the Preseli Mountains. 

She grew up in a ‘rundown’ castle and attended Oxford University to study Chinese. However, following her intuitive connection with the Earth, she chose to pursue a life entirely without electricity, modern technology, or furniture. 

For her home, she built a Celtic-style round hut from straw bales and horse manure, with a wooden reciprocal frame roof. Instead of electric lights, ovens and heaters, she has a fireplace. She collects fresh water from a stream, grows her own vegetables, keeps goats for milk and uses horses for transport.” …

URL:  https://www.indiependent.co.uk/an-interview-with-earth-prophet-emma-orbach/

Emily Dickinson’s creative solitude

Scholar Magdalena Ostas has contributed to Psyche, the online magazine, a fine summary of the role of solitude in the creatvity of American poet Emily Dickinson. The article, entitled “Emily Dickinson and the creative ‘solitude of space’” discusses Dickinson’s psychology and its interplay with words, images, ideas, and aesthetics.

URL: https://psyche.co/ideas/emily-dickinson-and-the-creativity-of-a-solitude-of-space