TypeTown

[Welcome to TypeTown, a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the typewriterā€™s place in history and modern culture. Click here to subscribe.] Welcome, friends to Sunday, fun day. Hereā€™s hoping, at least. Over the last few weeks, artificial intelligence got a whole lot smarter. For those of us concerned about what it meansā€¦ to our careers, our future, our kidsā€™ futureā€¦ weā€™re guessing an old Tom Robbins quote strikes a beligerent chord to many.

[Welcome to TypeTown, a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the typewriter’s place in history and modern culture. Click here to subscribe.] Welcome, welcome. It’s been a while. But here we are, fast learning the lessons of screenwriter and novelist William Goldman after unforeseen events kept us out of action last week. During a 50-year career, Goldman bashed away on at least five different typewriters, including a Hermes Baby, an Olympia SM9, and a Traveller de Luxe.

[Welcome to TypeTown, a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the typewriterā€™s place in history and modern culture. Click here to subscribe.] Ā”Buenos dias! A word of warning: weā€™re going to be quick this week. Mrs TypeTown is celebrating a BIG birthday and weā€™re not sure how long we can get away with this nonsense. So we start with American author Cormac McCarthy, whose love affair with typewriters has left quite the mark.

[Welcome to TypeTown, a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the typewriter’s place in history and modern culture. Click here to subscribe.] Hello, hello. We’ve been wondering all week how to get today’s TypeTown off to a great start. Then Margaret Atwood came along and put a rocket up our backside. So here we are, crashing headfirst into a figure who has emerged as one of the most prominent authors of our time.

[Welcome to TypeTown, a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the typewriter’s place in history and modern culture. Click here to subscribe.] Welcome one and all, but please don’t dawdle. Take a seat and settle down. And in the words of our first subject this week
 Dorothy Parker was a U.S. poet, writer and satirist who originally garnered attention for her ability to pierce the pomposity of the theatrical community of the 1910s and 1920s. Her first collection of poetry shifted 47,000 copies.

[Welcome to TypeTown, a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the typewriter’s place in history and modern culture. Click here to subscribe.] Welcome, welcome. Fab to see you again. Alas, we have not started the year well. This issue of TypeTown is a sloppy 72 hours late. But we’re here, just about, straightening our tie, patting down our hair, and hoping you don’t notice that our shirt isn’t ironed. Somewhat ironically, we start with the philosophies of Hunter S.

[Welcome to TypeTown, a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the typewriter’s place in history and modern culture. Click here to subscribe.] Bienvenidos todos. The weekend starts here, so settle down with a Guinness and kick back as we remember a literary giant (don’t worry, the heavy stuff doesn’t last). Dublin-born George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was a playwright known for addressing political, social, and religious themes. In 1925, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

[Welcome to TypeTown, a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the typewriter’s place in history and modern culture. Click here to subscribe.] Hello, good day, and welcome to the first TypeTown produced from Old Blighty. Our move from Toronto last week delayed this edition. So in a blatant effort to secure your forgiveness, we start today with a picture of an Underwood typewriter, an inquisitive dog, and a literary powerhouse.

[Welcome to TypeTown, a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the typewriter’s place in history and modern culture. Click here to subscribe.] Welcome back, amigos — and apologies for our recent absence. You can blame a rather spectacular bout of food poisoning. But a few days on and here we are, head up, back straight, and eating again without worrying about the consequences.

[Welcome to TypeTown, a fortnightly newsletter celebrating the typewriter’s place in history and modern culture. Click here to subscribe.] Blow out the candles and make a wish, people. Somewhat staggeringly, TypeTown has made it all the way to its first birthday. A whole year of these ramblings is probably about 11 months longer than we ever expected. So thank you, thank you. For signing up. For sharing. And for contributing to our Earl Grey fund. We hope you’ve enjoyed the ride.