Artist Tim Youd's 100 Novels project is not for the faint-hearted: retyping a hundred 20th-century novels, in places appropriate to the author or story, on typewriters of the same model used by the author. As I explained in The Typewriter Revolution, Tim puts two sheets of paper into the machine and keeps typing over and over on them until they are blotted, illegible rags. They survive the performance as testimony to his work.
Yesterday, I received a postcard which shows that the novels aren't enough typing for Tim. I believe he creates 500 of these for each performance! To quote him, "Holy mother, that was a lot of work."
No, seriously, here are some email-based projects that you might just find are worth supporting.
1. Neil Barraclough has produced over 40 issues of Type Town, a lighthearted exploration of typewriter culture and writers who type. Listen to an interview with Neil on the Austin Typewriter, Ink Podcast. Read an interview with him on Substack.
2. David Sax, author of The Revenge of Analog and The Future is Analog, has started a typewritten newsletter. He explains:
During the start of 2023 I spoke about the virtue of analog at Philly Typewriter, the world’s premiere typewriter store and community. Bill and the crew kindly send me home with a Smith-Corona Galaxie Twelve typewriter, in mint condition, and stunning baby blue. Here is my way to put it to good use, by whacking out thoughts on the advance of analog, the questions of digital, and what it means to be human today. At least from my perspective.
Each entry is typed without prep or notes, in one pass. I transcribe them, clean up any glaring errors, and then post a photo of the original. Analog, via digital.
3. Bob Sassone, columnist for the Saturday Evening Post, is starting a once-a-month email column titled "Paper Says It Might Rain." It promises to be a nostalgic look back at the days when people actually uttered words like that—and typewriters happily clacked away. You can read about this project and subscribe here. The price is right: $10 for a lifetime subscription. Bob tells me he's thinking of writing some columns by typewriter, and some by hand.
4. Oh, and if you want to get this blog in your email, you can sign up on Blogtrottr.
Urban Legend Typewriters, my little public-service effort, now has a new venue in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, in addition to its traditional location at WordPlay Cincy. Some typewriters will now be for sale at Paper Wings, a lovely stationery shop. There's a lot more foot traffic in OTR, and I think the cool street atmosphere will make a difference.
The shop originally caught my eye with the Smith-Corona they have on display in the window.
Two Urban Legend machines, from 1936 and 1980, can now be found in the shop.
