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Last Remaining Typewriter Tossed From NYC Writing Space

by Terrence O'Brien on May 20, 2010 at 06:27 PM

No TypewritersAllow us to tweak your nostalgia bone for a minute (you can find it right next to your insincerity bone): the last remaining typist (yes, as in typewriter) has gotten the boot from the hallowed halls of the Writers Room here in NYC. Skye Ferrante has been paying the $1,400 annual fee to guarantee himself space at the Greenwich Village haven for writers for the past six years. But he decided to take an eight-month leave of absence and when he returned, the sign that demanded priority for those using typewriters had disappeared. The once constant companion of any serious writer had now become one of the distractions that the Writers Room seeks to avoid.

The policy favoring typists was merely in place to placate older patrons, most of whom have since died off. Walking back into the offices for the first time in almost a year, Ferrante was offered a choice -- switch to a laptop or leave. The Writers Room was not completely unwilling to compromise, since they offered to refund Ferrante's membership fee, but the author was not thrilled with either option. He will be allowed to ride out the rest of this term there, which ends on June 30.

The 37-year-old Ferrante took the opportunity to wax pretentious with the Daily News, telling the paper, "there's a different commitment when you know you're making a mark on the page, when you strike a key and bleed ink on the page." We can identify with his love of the old-school typing tool, several us here at Switched even own one (or two). They don't get used a whole lot for writing, but they make great conversation starters. [From: Daily News, via: Boing Boing]

Tags: greenwich village, GreenwichVillage, luddites, new york city, NewYorkCity, top, typewriter, typists, writers room, WritersRoom

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