J.D. Salinger
Wikimedia Commons
As with most art that’s gathered a cult following, the merit of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is always hotly debated. Both that book’s fans and its detractors surely know that Salinger had long been one of America’s most infamous recluses.
After moving to Cornish, New Hampshire and occupying a tiny cottage on a 90-acre swath of land, hardly anyone heard from Salinger.
In Cornish, the author did do a bit of socializing at first, even reluctantly giving a high school newspaper an interview. But when this interview somehow made its way to a larger publication, Salinger was so upset that he built a literal wall around his house.
Salinger’s last published short story came in 1965. After that: nothing. However, according to ex-lover Joyce Maynard’s memoir, he did keep writing. But none of it saw the light of day. In 1986, for example, when a would-be biographer wanted to include letters that Salinger had written in his book, the author took him to court.
Until his death in 2010, Salinger remained a recluse as he ate in the back kitchens of restaurants and drove a jeep with curtains on the windows.
Lauryn Hill
Brennan Schnell/Flickr
Lauryn Hill gained fame as a member of the early-1990s hip-hop group The Fugees. After that, her acclaimed 1998 solo debut The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill took that level of fame even higher. But then, she took the residuals (and her Grammy award) and essentially just disappeared.
In 2010, Hill resurfaced long enough to perform at the traveling music festival Rock the Bells. She gave a fairly reasonable explanation for her absence. She says that she “was a stay-at-home mom … I wanted a real life as well outside of public scrutiny,” she told FUSE after the show. “I wanted that freedom to do whatever I wanted to do.”
All might have seemed well and good, but scant new music from Hill has appeared since, and a no-show at the 2016 Grammy awards led to more speculation. A representative for Hill said that the singer never agreed to appear. Yet a spokesperson for the Grammys said that she was on board, and even appeared at the dress rehearsal.
Perhaps Hill’s “Miseducation” lies in the area of communication.
