Conflating homelessness, mental illness, and eccentricity with reclusion is illustrated by several sites about “The Leatherman,” a nineteenth-century hermit and eccentric in Westchester County, New York, so called because of his attire and interest in leather items. The conflation is furthered by adding details about his enormous appetite and by ghost sightings. URLs: http://www.trailsidemuseum.org/Leatherman.html, http://www.bearsystems.com/OldLeatherMan/OldLeatherMan.htm, (with photo), and http://www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/yasinsac/briarcliff/leather.html.
Southern California hermits
In this Los Angeles Times article, the author reflects on the “hermit of Tahquitz” and other colorful hermits who have recently populated the desert canyons of southern California. URL: http://www.latimes.com/features/outdoors/la-os-wildwest22feb22,
1,5376597.story?coll=la-headlines-outdoors&ctrack=1&cset=true.
Georgiou re Robert Lax
SFGate.com interview with Steve Georgiou, author of The Way of the Dreamcatcher, on his spirituality and on his mentor Robert Lax, the poet-hermit. URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2005/02/15/findrelig.DTL. See also the Hermitary article on Robert Lax.
North Wales hermit, 18th century
John Harris, the “English hermit” of North Wales, is an historical and legendary figure who lived in a cave recently the subject of archaeological investigation. This 1999 article entitled “English Hermit” by Anthony Sinclair and Keith J. Matthews of the University of Liverpool, was first published in CAPRA (Cave Archaeology and Paleontology Research Archives). It includes several pictures of the cave and site. URL: http://www.shef.ac.uk/~capra/1/hermit.html.
Desert spirituality
A 1992 article entitled “Desert Faith” in Spirituality Today on desert spirituality, inspired by the author’s residence near a Colorado desert. URL: http://www.spiritualitytoday.org/spir2day/92441hatch.htm. Brought to our attention by a friend of Hermitary.