Saturday, June 13, 2009
Retrowriter
In today's garage sailes (made unavoidable since they filled the neighborhood) I found the perfect tool for the studio- an Amish word processor. It needs no electricity and still produces a printed page in New Times Roman- a Voss manual typewriter. This machine represents the high point of post WWII craftsmanship, filled with signals of vaunted German design and efficiency. The lines are sleek with chromium imbellishments. A beauty, a dream, and perfect for typing out the second draft. The first comes by hand, the second by typewriter, then the third on the electronic devise. Does composing on a manual typewriter throw me back to some romantic age? I did most of my earlier work on a manual machine for self evident reasons. I'm beginning to think that my writing bears a retro ethos. Not quite post modern. Not brutely modern. Somewhere that hopefully is myself.
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For years I did my writing on a typewriter. But as I am prone to typos, I set the blasted thing on the lawn with a free sign taped to the case. I confess, I was a bit sad when I saw that someone had actually taken it. That loud, resounding click, click had an official sounds, as if to say, "Behold, I am writing."
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