begriffs's Profile

I love shacks, too. Here are more good ones.

Willard Van Orman Quine - "Dad built himself a small "shack" as he called it to be as far away from the family noise as possible. That way he could work to his heart's content and not interfere with the noisy comings and goings of the likes of my brother and me and our friends. It was not wired for electricity, so when it was late or dark or stormy, he would light his kerosene lanterns and keep pounding away on his typewriter."

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger - Wrote warm, lyrical piano songs called Frösöblomster in a rustic house called "Sommarhagen" that he built on the island of Frösö.

Birgit Friggebo - In 1979 this Swedish Housing Minister changed the building codes to exempt structures under 15 square meters. Minimalist cabins ensued and are called "friggebods."

Gustav Mahler - Built a tiny composition house or "Komponierhäuschen" at the edge of a lake.

Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia - VERY rudimentary, created by orthodox monks seeking Hesychasm.

Skellig Michael clocháns - beehive dwellings made of piled stones used by monks on cliffs on an island off of Ireland.

Ludwig Wittgenstein - built a cabin in Skjolden Norway in which to do his uncompromising philosophy. There are pictures and details of this cabin in the book "Ludwig Wittenstein: There where you are not."

Toru Takemitsu - Wrote haiku-like music blending Eastern sensibilities with Western instruments. He lived in a barn for a time to better focus on composition.

пустынь - In English, poustinia. A small, sparsely furnished cabin for solitary (generally religious) retreats.

Dick Proenneke - Filmed himself building a cabin in Alaska in the movie "Alone in the Wilderness." He's pretty amazing.

Ryōkan Taigu - A buddhist monk who left the monastery to live in a hut outside of town. He wrote poems about his daily life and his shack.

Ted Kaczynski - Aka The Unabomber. Before he snapped he was a mathematician studying complex analysis. Built a tiny cabin in Montana which he filled with books and supplies.