May 30, 2018:
I thought I might focus this blog a little more on poetry while maintaining a strong typewriter presence. Hopefully the change results in more posts in general.
Today I have a 1951 Gossen Tippa which I fell in love with minutes before Richard Polt kindly offered to let me buy it from him. It came with a letter documenting its history of traveling with the first owner as he moved to Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Germany, Canada... it's been all over the place. I am very grateful for the machine and also to know the history of it. I mean, how often do we ever get to know such things about the machines we love?
The poem is about love too... written in a hotel lobby the night/morning of May 18/19th in Midloathian, Virginia while reflecting on a drive through part of West Virginia the day before.
Today I have a 1951 Gossen Tippa which I fell in love with minutes before Richard Polt kindly offered to let me buy it from him. It came with a letter documenting its history of traveling with the first owner as he moved to Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Germany, Canada... it's been all over the place. I am very grateful for the machine and also to know the history of it. I mean, how often do we ever get to know such things about the machines we love?
The poem is about love too... written in a hotel lobby the night/morning of May 18/19th in Midloathian, Virginia while reflecting on a drive through part of West Virginia the day before.
Nice Tippa. I have one from 54. I really like it, but if I type more than about half a page at one sitting the action gets tiring.
ReplyDeleteI love the action! For me the only flaw is the noise. I am sure this would be fixed with a new platen... maybe someday...
DeleteIt is ironic that the second line of your poem references microcomputer software that began the process of supplanting the typewriter in the writing process: Word Perfect.
ReplyDeleteI feel privileged to have seen that typewriter and its letter of provenance in the flesh just a few days ago. Thank you for your hospitality, and I like this new direction you're taking with this blog. You're uniquely qualified for it, and I look forward to seeing what happens!
Thank you! You are more than welcome to return sometime!
Deleteheh, I wonder if we'd get more comments if we were more diligent in posting links to our blog posts into our social media timelines. I haven't noticed much of an effect in the ones that I have posted, but maybe frequency is the key... Seems like they oughta be good for something less ephemeral..
ReplyDeleteYes Ted it definitely motivates me (reminds me!) to come back and drink at the wonderful wellsprings you guys keep going.
DeleteTed, I think you’re on to something, I’ll try it myself.
ReplyDeleteMark, nice poem, and I like this new direction of the blog.
Well done. Keep the Tippa clacking and the poetry coming!
ReplyDelete