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Three Americana hermits


from Racket, local Minneapolis, MN, news site: “The Hermitage: The Fanciful, Tragic Story of the Lake Minnetonka Hermit Brothers.” Image: George Halstad (d. 1901), resident of the Hermitage.
URL: https://racketmn.com/the-hermitage-the-the-fanciful-tragic-story-of-the-lake-minnetonka-hermit-brothers

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from the Ohio Country Journal: “The Hermit of Mad River.”
Image: David Steinberger (1857-1945), hermit of Mad River, Ohio.
URL: https://ocj.com/2023/02/the-hermit-of-mad-river/

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from the Union Leader (New Hampshire): “A hermit dug his own grave so he’d never have to leave his land.” Image: Perley Swett (1888-1973), the “Hermit of Taylor Pond.”
URL: https://www.unionleader.com/nh/lifestyles/a-hermit-dug-his-own-grave-so-hed-never-have-to-leave-his-land/article_5f96af58-b499-11ee-954b-8b61c084f7e8.html

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Netta Weinstein on solitude

The Hidden Brain podcast titled “How ro Be Alone” addresses “the case for solitude” in an episode featuring University of Reading psychologist Netta Weinstein, author of the 2024 book Soltude: the Science and Power of Being Alone. Weinstein is director of the European Research Council’s “Solitude: Alone but Resilient” project. She also discusses the topic of solitude on a recent episode of the “Talk Nerdy” podcast.

URLs:
Hidden Brain: https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/how-to-be-alone/;
Talk Nerdy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVTDBGqmLDU


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Solitude – Psychology & Psychiatry

Three treatments of the topic of solitude, from professional sources:

Two essays from Psychology Today:
1. “Why You Should Spend Quality Time With Yourself.” Byline: “The Surprising Ways Solitude Is an Antidote to Loneliness.”
URL: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindfulness-for-wellbeing/202406/why-you-should-spend-quality-time-with-yourself

2. “The Surprising Ways Solitude Is an Antidote to Loneliness.” Byline:
“Time alone is fleeting in our modern world, but it’s key to social connection.”
URL: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-power-of-belonging/202406/the-surprising-ways-solitude-is-an-antidote-to-loneliness

3. Video-essay (9 min.) from Psychiatric Times:
“The Benefits of Intentional Solitude.” Essay summary: “There is a stigma around being alone. Balancing out social interactions with alone time is important for patients, and clinicians can help them understand the psychological benefits of intermittent, intentional solitude. While everyone must spend some time alone, not all alone time is the same.”
URL: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/the-benefits-of-intentional-solitude


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Alkan: French composer-recluse

An unusual article from the website Classical Music, presented by the BBC Music magazine, titled “Charles-Valentin Alkan: the hermit who composed devilishly difficult piano works.” Here the term hermit refers to the contrast between Alkan’s considerable number of compositions, positively noted by Liszt, Chopin, George Sand,and Alexandre Dumas, and his apparently skilled performances to his behavior. He acquainted the label of hermit and recluse due to his regular refusal to bask in the success of his work, to shun public performances and appearances, and to his sensitivities and reactions to events arpund him.

Notes the article: “Alkan’s need for stay-at-home solitude may have related to some kind of depressive, obsessive-compulsive disorder, but the evidence we have is unclear. In company, his manner seems to have been generally straightforward and likeable: there was a warm friendship with Chopin, who shared something of Alkan’s resistance to public appearances, himself preferring to play in semi-private salons.”

Includes links to YouTube of Alkan’s music performed.

URL: https://www.classical-music.com/features/composers/charles-valentin-alkan