Of all the classes I took during K-12 + college (BA + MA), the only one I ever failed was typing. Fifty+ years later and a long career in programming computers, I'm still a lousy typist. Besides the letter "e," the only other key on my computer keyboard (this one's about 10 years old) showing wear is "Backspace." Despite that, I've been lusting after typewriters for years, yet I haven't bought one. You're inspiring me--it's time!
I have an old Remmington (picture in the chat) that my mom bought at a flea market to have as a decoration. As a poet, I could not permit this act of bourgeoisie, and claimed it for myself. I like to write poetry on it, I find I have developed a particular short-form style of writing when I type that is a little different from how I write by hand (or type on a computer. . . these keys are heavy and it creates RHYTHM!)
But my main use for it has been when I write songs and am working on memorizing them, I type up the lyrics, and the act of typing helps me commit it to memory, and then I have a nice collection of my songs typewritten.
Your brain is pretty much always COOKING, Austin! I love the idea of using the diner-style "order pad" with a carbon copy. Beats small sticky notes that I put somewhere to remind me, and then forget where I put them. At least with the "order pad", you have a carbon copy of notes stuck together on the pad. Awesome.
We visited pur local Art Museum in Ravensburg, south of Germany near Lake Constance. The news exhibition Shows works Made by Geta Brâtescu, a Abstract Artist from Rumainia.
My comment is a bit of a tangent. For me, the best way to memorize poems is to practice them while walking. Granted I'm walking with my phone, which means I can double-check wording as needed. There's something about moving - perhaps the rhythm of moving - that boosts the poem's lines. Plus, longs walks give you lots of time to practice. :)
One of the best purchases I've ever made was putting a few bucks into the cup of a traveling poet in the French Quarter in New Orleans. He had a typewriter set up on a tv-dinner tray and was stoned out of his mind. He wrote me a poem on the spot and I still have it. Crazy how tangible art brings back the smells and humidity of good memories.
My mom recently gave me her Hermes 3000 from college and that caused me to acquire about 15 more machines. They are such beautiful things (usually) and so enjoyable to use. My handwriting is horrible (I know I should fix it) and I much prefer using a typewriter. I give typewriters away to anyone who even mentions they might be at all interested in one. My favorites are the Hermes 3000, Hermes 2000, Royal Quiet Deluxe, and the Olympia SG-1. There are two good typewriter shops in the Philly area - Philly Typewriter and WPM. The former is the place to go if you want to get a machine restored to a very high level. The latter has a big inventory in varying conditions and they have a technician who will do a solid cleanup for a machine. I love this idea of typing out what you like as a practice!
All these comments and your post, Austin, remind me of my typewriter days. I too just turned 80, like Diana, and I was happy to discover word processing as a writing teacher. Now my students would not have to do all that tedious cutting and pasting and what a wonder spell check would be! And of course, it was true. But typewriters and carbon copies brought us up close and personal with writing and editing. It happened right there and with our own hands. So now I want to find an old typewriter and do some carbon copies--sales books work too! Perfect for poems we love--to give away one at a time. Thank you and to all who responded to this thread. 😊❤️
I copy my favorite poems by hand in a commonplace book. No typewriter, but a nice fountain pen and ink collection to work with. Sometimes I'll ink up a pen with a particular color just to copy a certain poem, and then when I write with that pen/color combo for the next couple of weeks the poem is in the back of my head.
I grew up typing on typewriters, though. I had my own little desk and typewriter in our guest room, just like my dad (a college professor) in his study, and took that seriously!
I love guest check/kitchen check! There's some really good metaphor at work.
I still remember my Mum squealing with delight on receiving a Red Olivetti Valentine Portable for her birthday. For her, it was her own typewriter, little did she know it would become an icon :)
I too have a love of typewriters. My grandfather who loved to find things, which were thrown away-had a knack for making things work again. In the 70's they would thrown all these typewriters away and he would save them from the trash bin. He gave me two, but one was left behind when my parents moved and the other was stolen not too long ago. I had such a great love for typewriters that I took several years of typing classes in junior high school and highschool and can type: Drum roll please: 70 wpm. I was the fastest typist when we had class competitions.
Ohhhhhhhh I love this idea. Slowing down in 2023, especially with writing (says the guy who posts multiple times most weeks) sounds positively lovely. This is one thing I cherish about Substack...although I am slightly worried about "notes" and "chat" now on the platform. Wouldn't it be cool to have a week once a year where all writers use solely typewriters to produce their creative prose? I think that'd be fun :)
Of all the classes I took during K-12 + college (BA + MA), the only one I ever failed was typing. Fifty+ years later and a long career in programming computers, I'm still a lousy typist. Besides the letter "e," the only other key on my computer keyboard (this one's about 10 years old) showing wear is "Backspace." Despite that, I've been lusting after typewriters for years, yet I haven't bought one. You're inspiring me--it's time!
I have an old Remmington (picture in the chat) that my mom bought at a flea market to have as a decoration. As a poet, I could not permit this act of bourgeoisie, and claimed it for myself. I like to write poetry on it, I find I have developed a particular short-form style of writing when I type that is a little different from how I write by hand (or type on a computer. . . these keys are heavy and it creates RHYTHM!)
But my main use for it has been when I write songs and am working on memorizing them, I type up the lyrics, and the act of typing helps me commit it to memory, and then I have a nice collection of my songs typewritten.
Your brain is pretty much always COOKING, Austin! I love the idea of using the diner-style "order pad" with a carbon copy. Beats small sticky notes that I put somewhere to remind me, and then forget where I put them. At least with the "order pad", you have a carbon copy of notes stuck together on the pad. Awesome.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vWXyxuFSXVRNDELXA
The Titel of the exhebition ist: Drawing as a dance. And sehr ist shown with an old fashioned typewriter.
Our Work is outstanding.
We visited pur local Art Museum in Ravensburg, south of Germany near Lake Constance. The news exhibition Shows works Made by Geta Brâtescu, a Abstract Artist from Rumainia.
We we're deeply impressed by her works.
I have those Ray Johnson books too 🙌 though I haven't dug into "Are the Funniest Artist" just yet.
My comment is a bit of a tangent. For me, the best way to memorize poems is to practice them while walking. Granted I'm walking with my phone, which means I can double-check wording as needed. There's something about moving - perhaps the rhythm of moving - that boosts the poem's lines. Plus, longs walks give you lots of time to practice. :)
Cadence. Yes.
One of the best purchases I've ever made was putting a few bucks into the cup of a traveling poet in the French Quarter in New Orleans. He had a typewriter set up on a tv-dinner tray and was stoned out of his mind. He wrote me a poem on the spot and I still have it. Crazy how tangible art brings back the smells and humidity of good memories.
Wow. Awesome. Any good?
"Good" is relative when the writer is on acid. It wouldn't win any prizes or anything like that. But it made for a great memory.
My mom recently gave me her Hermes 3000 from college and that caused me to acquire about 15 more machines. They are such beautiful things (usually) and so enjoyable to use. My handwriting is horrible (I know I should fix it) and I much prefer using a typewriter. I give typewriters away to anyone who even mentions they might be at all interested in one. My favorites are the Hermes 3000, Hermes 2000, Royal Quiet Deluxe, and the Olympia SG-1. There are two good typewriter shops in the Philly area - Philly Typewriter and WPM. The former is the place to go if you want to get a machine restored to a very high level. The latter has a big inventory in varying conditions and they have a technician who will do a solid cleanup for a machine. I love this idea of typing out what you like as a practice!
All these comments and your post, Austin, remind me of my typewriter days. I too just turned 80, like Diana, and I was happy to discover word processing as a writing teacher. Now my students would not have to do all that tedious cutting and pasting and what a wonder spell check would be! And of course, it was true. But typewriters and carbon copies brought us up close and personal with writing and editing. It happened right there and with our own hands. So now I want to find an old typewriter and do some carbon copies--sales books work too! Perfect for poems we love--to give away one at a time. Thank you and to all who responded to this thread. 😊❤️
It blows my mind thinking about all the writers back in the day using typewriters to write novels. Novels! Revision must have been Hell.
Typing college papers was hell :-)
I copy my favorite poems by hand in a commonplace book. No typewriter, but a nice fountain pen and ink collection to work with. Sometimes I'll ink up a pen with a particular color just to copy a certain poem, and then when I write with that pen/color combo for the next couple of weeks the poem is in the back of my head.
I grew up typing on typewriters, though. I had my own little desk and typewriter in our guest room, just like my dad (a college professor) in his study, and took that seriously!
I love guest check/kitchen check! There's some really good metaphor at work.
Nice 👍
I still remember my Mum squealing with delight on receiving a Red Olivetti Valentine Portable for her birthday. For her, it was her own typewriter, little did she know it would become an icon :)
And yes, she still has it!
I too have a love of typewriters. My grandfather who loved to find things, which were thrown away-had a knack for making things work again. In the 70's they would thrown all these typewriters away and he would save them from the trash bin. He gave me two, but one was left behind when my parents moved and the other was stolen not too long ago. I had such a great love for typewriters that I took several years of typing classes in junior high school and highschool and can type: Drum roll please: 70 wpm. I was the fastest typist when we had class competitions.
For sure! Sandra
Ohhhhhhhh I love this idea. Slowing down in 2023, especially with writing (says the guy who posts multiple times most weeks) sounds positively lovely. This is one thing I cherish about Substack...although I am slightly worried about "notes" and "chat" now on the platform. Wouldn't it be cool to have a week once a year where all writers use solely typewriters to produce their creative prose? I think that'd be fun :)
Michael Mohr
Substack: "The Incompatibility of Being Alive"
https://reallife82.substack.com/
I always thought Twitter would be a more thoughtful place if people wrote out their tweets and responses, took a phone photo, and posted that.
It would be interesting seeing all the handwriting.
Though I do also appreciate the neutralizing effect of a common typeface.