Category: United States

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William Pester, Hollywood “hermit”

Hollywood in the 1920s to 1940s produced several colorful hermits already mentioned among these entries and featured among the galleries. Another was William Pester, the German-born Friedrich Wilhelm Pester, who resided under one of the two letter L’s in the famous Hollywood sign. Pester dressed in a robe, at least at first, and was later not apparently entirely solitary. He was called the “Hermit of Palm Springs.”

URLs: 1. http://www.mydesert.com/article/20121128/NEWS01/311280007/Palm-Springs-hermit-made-mark-nudist-tourist-attraction-inmate, and 2. http://www.mydesert.com/interactive/article/20121129/NEWS/121129001/William-Pester-Hermit-Palm-Springs?odyssey=tab|topnews, plus a German-language article: http://www.geschichte-borna.de/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93:friedrich-wilhelm-pester-der-eremit-von-palm-springs&catid=38:persoenlichkeiten&Itemid=72

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Three modern hermits profiled

In “Life Lessons from Modern Day Hermits,” a Telegraph article by Adam Lusher, the writer discusses his encounters three contemporary hermits:

  • Shropshire hermit, Stafford Whiteaker, editor of The Good Retreat Guide, who lives as a solitary religious in a tiny cottage;
  • an unnamed New York City woman whose reclusion includes delivered groceries and anonymous advice; and
  • Sara Maitland, author of A Book of Silence and the forthcoming Gossip from the Forest: a Search for the Hidden Roots of our Fairytales, who lives without internet, radio, or television in a cottage.

URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/wellbeing/9539104/Life-lessons-from-modern-day-hermits.html

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Bill Porter in China

Two articles with photos.

1. A New York Review of Books item on author Bill Porter (also known as Red Pine) visiting China, where translations of his books on Chinese hermits — Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits and Zen Baggage: a Pilgrimage to China — have made Porter very popular. The recent translations have prompted commissions for Chinese-language works not presently in English. The NYRB blogger notes that “Last year, Porter says, he earned $30,000 from his China book sales, pushing him out of the world of food stamps and into the realm of the tax-paying lower-middle class.” Porter’s present visit will include 20 interviews. Features a photo.

URL: http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2012/may/29/zen-book-contracts-bill-porter-beijing/

2. A China Daily article calls Porter an “eastern mystic” in a straightforward summary of Porter’s biography and recent interest in his writings, translations, and visits to China. Also includes a photo.

URL: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2012-06/05/content_15474162.htm

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Dugout Dick’s caves

The colorful Idaho hermit Richard Zimmerman, called “Dugout Dick,” left many caves for itinerant visitors beofre his death in 2010. A brief article in the Idaho Press-Tribune reports that the Bureau of Land Management has filled in most of the caves because they were hazardous. A cabin inhabited by Dick will, however, be maintained, with relevant signage.

URL: http://www.idahopress.com/news/state/dugout-dick-s-central-idaho-caves-filled-in-by-blm/article_3f638dd0-1222-57c4-9f85-e54c74d4467d.html