Edinburgh, Scotland
Typewronger Books — Edinburgh’s Hidden Gem
That the love of typewriters is a thing, becomes evident from Somsubhra Banerjee’s article that inspired this one. Such passion for outdated technology does not come naturally to me. Yet, I came to appreciate the charming appearance of typewritten verse in 2022 after my visit to Typewronger Books in Edinburgh, Scotland.
It was not love at first sight. I slowly descended the steps to an unpretentious-looking bookstore’s entrance. In true Harry Potteresque style that is so characteristic of Edinburgh, Scotland, the “entrance” gave away absolutely nothing. I might as well have opened what looked like a basement door and found myself in Diagon Alley on the other side!
Little did I know, that I would spend the next two hours with family rummaging through entertaining accounts written by independent writers, some graduates of the University of Edinburgh’s famous creative writing programs, and many other intriguing but unknown gems. Well, that shouldn’t be surprising in the world’s first city designated as a “City of Literature” by UNESCO.
It turns out that this bookstore specialises in selling, but also repairing old typewriters. That someone would take the pains to get an old dysfunctional typewriter repaired for a cost sounded absurd to me.
The book wizard at the front desk was kind enough to share snippets of how many writers still prefer to write on typewriters. Or how he has a typewriter there which when my daughter click-clacked, would generate a tweet! And, how he had sold metres and metres of books as “home office decoration” during the great golden age of Zoom (2020–22)!
What fascinated me the most, however, was how captivated I was with all the typewriters they had on display. Turquoise, mint green, plain white but also the classic grandfather typewriters — black with black keys and golden alphabets etched on them.
Since that rainy afternoon, seeing typewritten words on the paper now mesmerises me. Those stark black and white angular letters seem to have a personality of their own. Have you read verses of poetry that just feel more alive on Instagram because they are typewritten? There is magic in them. If I can now see it, could this be some kind of literary spiritual awakening I underwent at Typewronger?
Typewriters haven’t gone completely out of fashion despite their more sophisticated and user-friendly competitors such as laptops and tablets. Surprisingly, they have held on to their niche and achieved cult status. It makes me wonder if some part of our current less efficient, cumbersome, but infinitely more charming and deeper way of writing, will unexpectedly preserve itself despite the advent of easier, lazier AI tools. Anyway, I digress…
It makes me wonder why. Perhaps, a typewriter, the way it feels to exert your fingers on its keys and the resulting click-clack sound allows a writer to feel like a music composer. After all, music is just a more mystical form of writing, isn’t it?
Or does it allow her to take on the identity of Hemingway, or perhaps, Anne Lamott, as types away? Similar to the purpose a bottle of rum would serve, or perhaps, an old, white, soft-beyond-description t-shirt. Is it a getting-into-character exercise for literary minds? Or does it evoke nostalgia for a lost, golden era of literature that she painfully tries to access, but only through its relics — typewriters?
Who knows? Do tell me if you give writing on a typewriter a shot one fine day. And if you were to bust it, you now know where to get it repaired!
