A hands-on workshop where attendees learn to use vintage typewriters to write haikus and short poems under guidance.
Soularis is hosting a typewriter poetry workshop at Hotel Ella on Thursday, July 30, from 7 PM to 8 PM. The whole point is to get your hands on a vintage typewriter and actually use it to write your own poetry, rather than just looking at one from a distance. You'll be typing on these old machines while being guided through a simple poetry-writing process, so you don't need to be a writer to join in.
The focus is on haikus and short poems, and the guidance is there to help you work through them. If you've never used a typewriter, that's part of the draw—the mechanical feel of the keys and the sound of them hitting the page are a good part of the experience. You'll walk away with something you wrote yourself on a machine that's a far cry from a laptop.
The setting fits the mood. Hotel Ella is a boutique hotel in downtown Austin housed in the historic Goodall Wooten House, one of the city's original landmark estates. It was built in 1900 as a Greek revival-style mansion and went through an extensive renovation in 2013. These days it has 47 guest rooms, a cabana-lined pool, and a wrap-around veranda. It's a quiet, elegant spot in the middle of the city, which makes it a good place to sit down and focus on a few lines of poetry.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Austin and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
So, if you've ever wanted to try your hand at a typewriter or just spend an hour writing something short and tactile, this is a low-stakes way to do it. The workshop runs from 7 PM to 8 PM on Thursday, July 30, at Hotel Ella.
