Hermes 2000 ... Who uses typewriters?

I wrote about my Hermes 2000 typewriter a few months back. It's out again, being used. I'm ordering ribbons. And I want to compile a list of writers who use typewriters. Don DeLillo does. So does Joe Eszterhas. Larry McMurtry.

Who else?

More on typewriters

I think what I like most about this new (old) Hermes 2000 typewriter is that my son Loves It Loves It Loves It. He's never written so much. Because it's a gadget? I don't know--he's never written that much on the computer. Partly it's unusual and odd, I'm sure. And he, like me, loves the sound of the keys tapping away.

I wrote a little last night on it, and it was fun--and a little annoying. The apostrophe is not where it is on the computer; it shares the 8 key. And there's no "1" key; you have to use a lower case "L." Only time will tell if I'll get much writing done on it; it does Slowwwww things way down. But it's gorgeous and again, that sound: so much richer than the sound of tapping plastic iBook keys (much as I adore my laptop...).

Tools are so much a part of the writing experience. Liking--no, loving--our tools makes the experience of writing so much richer. I can move so much faster on my laptop. I type so fast my fingers keep up with my brain (thank you Mr. Ribble and Mrs. Fitzgerald, for those typing classes in high school).

I need to work on my fiction now, but can't decide: the typewriter or the computer? Maybe I'll just go check e-mail and some of my favorite blogs while I'm deciding. Ha!

My newest find: a Hermes 2000 typewriter

Isn't it lovely? I love it!!!

I did a piece on the Beat Hotel, in Desert Hot Springs (www.dhsbeathotel.com) where there's a manual typewriter in every room and I began salivating for a manual. It's been years.

I love the sound, the look, everything. Of course it's slower, it's rustic, but that could be a good thing.

When Shelby Foote said he used a dip pen because it slowed him down, that resonated with me. I love fountain pens, too.

And last night, on the Golden Globe Awards, thanks to Elle Brooks (I wasn't watching; she was), I learned that Larry McMurtry thanked his Hermes 3000 for 30 years of words. (McMurtry only uses typewriters.)

Travis also loves the typewriter and has been writing up a storm since I got it two days ago.

He says, "I like it more than a computer because ... I don't know... you press the keys harder than a computer. I really don't know why. It's just more fun."