A new typewriter club emerged through the cracks of everyday technology. It was implemented at the start of this school year and many students have begun to wonder what this new club is about.
Some students, like junior Bella Campbell, have speculated that the club may allow you “to experience writing in a different type of way.” Bella Campbell also said, “I feel like it’s gonna be about unlocking a new dimension into different types of writing,” through its use of a more vintage approach.
Senior Nora Talty said, “I don’t know a lot about typewriters so I think it stuck out when it was in the bulletin.” This seemed to be true for many students as there had been many whispers about the club when it first appeared. The unusualness of the club relating to the technology of today, and its mysteriousness may be all part of its appeal.
The club started with an advertisement in the bulletin, on the morning of August 31st for a Typewriter Revolution club. It included a “Typewriter Manifesto” which stated, “The revolution will be typewritten,” and mentions that the movement of the club will go against the implications of everyday technology.
This “Typewriter Manifesto” in the bulletin was part of a book called The Typewriter Revolution by Richard Polt, Will Bagnall, the club advisor, said in an interview with the Pepperbox.
“What inspired the club was that I have a friend who teaches in LA who started a typewriter club in LA that’s really huge, really popular,” Bagnall said. He took this inspiration to create a club at Arcata High with a specific intention in mind. “The purpose of the club is really just to explore writing without it being recorded somewhere; it’s not shared unless you actually hand the piece of paper to somebody,” he mentioned.
Bagnall has stated that the Typewriter Club is unofficial as of yet, and is, “still pending, depending on how students are interested.” With a student population uncertain of their involvement in this club, the club numbers are still relatively low, but Bagnall hopes the students at Arcata High can get into typewriting as he did. In the interview, he recalled, “I started typing initially because I was interested in the machine mechanically,” but, “slowly got into using them.”
This club is a space for individuals with typewriters on their minds to explore writing and creativity in a way not very commonly seen today. If you want to learn more or are interested in joining, contact William Bagnall in room 211 or join the Google Classroom with code 27xzxex.
He hopes people will follow in this somewhat of a, as he remarked, “counter-technology movement.” Bagnall also wishes for people to be able to learn from this, “different way of looking at writing,” where people can, “embrace mistakes as they go.”
Bagnall expresses, “Anybody who’s typed on a typewriter will tell you that it’s a completely different writing experience because there’s this intention to hitting every key, every letter.”
