Category: United States

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Bill Porter update

Update on Bill Porter — translator of Chinese and Buddhist classics and China traveler, and author of Road to Heaven: Encounters With Chinese Hermits — in China.org.cn, titled “Drawn in the beauty of solitude – a life inspired by Chinese poetry.” Porter’s most recent visit to China centered around his latest book, Paradise of the Mind, on ancient poet Tao Yuanming or Tao Chien. The article reviews Porter’s travels and reflections, concluding:

Considering his age, Porter [he is 75] has decided to settle down and stop his wanderings. Together with some friends, he is preparing to open a meditation center in Seattle.

“The best things in life are things that can make the world stop,” he says. “I found it in Chinese culture, and I would like to share that.”

URL: http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2018-05/25/content_51518212.htm

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Introverts encouraged

A couple of introversion life-style pieces for a popular audience: “Living as an Introvert in an Extrovert World” in The Week addresses the social angle, while “Introverts, Hermits, And The Shy: Here’s Your Map To Success” in Forbes interviews a writer focused on jobs and careers.

Introverts will recognize the socializing issues immediately. The jogs and careers issues are more of a challenge. Since the 2012 appearance of the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain, a number of essays and articles have tried to “rehabilitate” introverts, to reassure them that they, too, can embrace the world of competition and claw their way to upward nobility. Usually this tact is addressed when discussing mental health like stress and burn-out and coping methods that poorly imitate meditation, and can be offensive. But more sensitive articles emphasize the existence of jobs that introverts actually like, occupations not quite as solitary as historically solitary jobs of lighthouse keepers or charcoal burners, of course. And that is the key. Introverts in occupations that highlight their mental or tactile skills versus their personality tip the perception of others favorably. But in the world of higher competition usually favored by magaines like Forbes, no safe advice is guaranteed.

URL: http://theweek.com/articles/747284/living-introvert-extroverts-world (The Week); https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2018/01/03/introverts-hermits-and-the-shy-heres-your-map-to-success/#1ed6bc3ec6a2 (Forbes)

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Joseph Plummer, New Hampshire hermit

The life and story of a 18th-century New Hampshire (US) hermit is recreated in a new book by Amani Willetts titled The Disappearance of Joseph Plummer. The book uses narrative, photography, and archival material to recreate the mystery.

“Before he left society for a life in the woods he [Plummer] was basically anonymous,” Willett said. “It was his act of leaving that turned him into a myth. Paradoxically, his desire to become invisible has only fueled people’s interest in his life.”

URL: https://hyperallergic.com/400898/amani-willett-photo-portrait-joseph-plummer/