LITERARY TALISMANS

I don't really believe in magic.  At least I don't think I do.

But I must confess that details about famous writers interest me and a part of me wonders if I emulate them if a little of their talent or success will rub off.

I read, for instance, that John Steinbeck was an aficionado of Palomino Blackwing pencils.  The Blackwing has been almost a cult item down through the years and other devotees of the pencil included Chuck Jones, who created Bugs Bunny, Stephen Sondheim, and Vladimir Nabokov.

I've wondered what it would be like to write on Hemingway's typewriter.  Would those marvelous descriptive minimalist sentences come from the typewriter for me too?

How about if if bought a dog house and sat on top the way Snoopy did?