presents

So you think these old clunkers are just good for holding down phone books in a hurricane, or collecting dust in some collector's collection? How wrong you are, my friend! They are genuine writing machines -- not devices for electronic entertainment and gossip, not "word processors" that distract you from writing by overwhelming you with options for the look of what you write.

Here's a place for real, working writers to share their thoughts on the joys of manual typewriters. Read on, and discover why these "obsolete" machines have more character and intrinsic value than the ephemeral, unreliable plastic box you're using to read this Web page.

Do you have an essay that you think belongs here? Feel free to submit it to me, Richard Polt, at polt@xavier.edu.

 

A Note on Typewriters (PDF)

by Ryan Alfaro

 

Machine, Quest, Ghost, River

by B.J. Best

 

Typewriter Love

by Rino Breebaart

 

Why I've Returned to the Manual Typewriter

by Brian Drake

Meet Constance (PDF)

by Kateri Ewing
 

Typewriters Are My Type

by Nicholas Flugga

Out of Touch: The Coldness of Technology

by Reese Matthews

Why I Use a Manual

by Kevin McGowin

 

Why I Still Use a Manual Typewriter

by Kevin McGowin

 

Little Corona

by Robert McGowin

 

The Comeback of the Manual Typewriter

by Lawrence P. McGuire

 

TRIBUTE TO THE TyPEwRiTEr

by Bill Meissner

 

Stolen Moments with a Manual Typewriter

by Bill Meissner

A 21st Century Typist's Lament

by Bill Meissner

 

A Type of Nostalgia

by William Pannapacker

Novel Becomes Nostalgic

by Karen Persson

 

The Root of the Attraction

by Richard Polt

 

Love Bids me Type

by Martin A. Rice, Jr.

 

Luddite Dreaming

by Matthew Smeal

 

An Explanatory Discourse

by Matthew Smeal

 

Why A Typewriter?

by Christopher Watkins

 

Click here for Robert Messenger's article on writers who use typewriters (PDF).

Click here to see a list of writers and their typewriters.