Why Typewriters Are Back: Focus, Craft, and Creativity (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Typewriters are making a comeback. What is it that a computer cannot do that a typewriter can?

[00:00:07] Speaker 2: The typewriter removes distractions from the writing process.

[00:00:11] Speaker 1: Writers like J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame, as well as pop stars like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift have publicly expressed they are fans.

[00:00:19] Speaker 2: I think all of these people have found that the typewriter enables that creative process.

[00:00:25] Speaker 1: So says Tom Grebkoff, better known as typewriter Tom, who for decades has fixed and collected typewriters.

[00:00:34] Speaker 2: This is called a catacombs because it has that sort of eerie feeling to it.

[00:00:39] Speaker 1: How many machines do you think you have all together in these rooms?

[00:00:44] Speaker 2: All together in these rooms, probably a thousand machines spread across pretty much every manufacturer since late 1800s.

[00:00:54] Speaker 1: While many manual typewriter shops have closed their doors, new stores have recently opened in Merrimack, New Hampshire, Dayton, Ohio and Chicago. See this is called a type shuttle. The renewed interest in typewriters keeps Grebkoff busy, leading meetings of the Atlanta Typewriter Club he founded.

[00:01:10] Speaker 2: I would say this is early 1900s.

[00:01:12] Speaker 1: And visiting schools and museums where he introduces younger generations to typewriters.

[00:01:17] Speaker 2: Every time I go to a school, I leave them a typewriter. I get haikus back from the kids. I get pictures back that they typed. And I love it. That's just the fun of doing it.