Wrote this on a typewriter....
traded a computer for my grandma's typewriter & started writing poetry with it
(In case it’s hard to read in the photo, here it is in text below)
Here's the thing. Writing is a craft.
But by definition, doesn’t craft mean making something with our own hands? Writing is my side-quest but after 10 hours working on a computer for my normal job, I’ve been struggling with spending even more hours on a screen, just to work on my writing craft. I do use paper and pen sometimes, but it’s slow and often what goes into a journal just stays there forever.
Yes, I'm writing this on a typewriter.
It was my grandmother's. I found it after she passed away. It was covered in dust and dirt in the attic of the farmhouse in Colombia. I dragged it across three airports and got weird looks from the US customs agents upon reentry. They saw it and asked me if I had just returned from time-traveling into the past. They even had the security dogs smell it.
But I fixed it up. When I got home, I watched YouTube videos on how to fix it. I changed the ink ribbon and brought it back to life. It makes me nostalgic knowing the last fingerprints on it were my grandma's. It had been her work machine back when she was a secretary and wrote in shorthand. It's what my mom and all her siblings used to write their homework assignments back in school.
So, finally, as I type this on an actual typewriter that has special meaning, I finally feel like writing is a craft. I press real buttons and words appear and it makes loud clicking sounds, and my hands become involved in moving the paper, sliding the roll back and forth, and the whole process is mechanical, analog beauty.
When I use it, I'm more careful of my words because I know there is no erasing. And there is no way I'm retyping this again. I find myself taking more time to think, really think inside my mind before I type it out. It’s crazy to think of the times when everything was done like this. It blows my mind how much humans got done without computers. I love writing, and I love breaks from screens.
Long live the typewriter.
Some typewriter poems I’ve written over the years:
(PS: you can click into each image to enlarge)
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