Famous writers and their pens

[Guest JohanO]

Perhaps it is nice to post pics of your favourite writers using a fountain or dip pen.

 

Below is a pic of the famous Dutch writer Gerard Reve (born 1923) seated at his desk in the 1980's, holding a steel dip pen. Reve wrote all of his many novels and letters with a dip pen.

Edited September 17, 2005 by JohanO

[Guest JohanO]

Hey, doesn't anyone have a 'favorite writer with a pen' pic!

[Karin]

I don't have one, but I meant to tell you what a great pic that is.

I'll have to look for some.

Thanks for this topic.

 

 

Karin

[wimg]

Hi Johan,

 

I would rather call Reve "notorious" . <GDR>

 

I do like the pic, though .

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Roger]

I would rather call Reve "notorious" . <GDR>

 

I do like the pic, though .

You've got that right, Wim! <_<

 

Pic is good. What did he do...write by candlelight?

[wimg]

Hi Roger,

I would rather call Reve "notorious"  . <GDR>

 

I do like the pic, though .

You've got that right, Wim! <_<

Why, do you know some of his work? I think with Reve it is one of those binary things. Either you like him, or you don't. Nothing in between. I happen to be in the latter category .

Pic is good. What did he do...write by candlelight?

Certainly looks like it . Regardless, he is contemporary, about your age now, Roger .

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Guest JohanO]

Well, if Roger knows the work of Reve, that would be rather remarkable! I thought Gerard Reve was not famous (notorious... ) outside The Netherlands.

 

For those who do not know his writings.... It is not for the faint-hearted…

 

Reve is (or was, because he suffers of severe dementia) one of the most famous (notorious… ) Dutch writers of the 20th century. He stirred up a lot of controversy, because he was a homosexual, a converted Roman Catholic, an alcoholic, a racist, a reactionary, anti-Leftist…. And a enormously gifted writer….

 

Below is a picture of Reve from 1982. I think this man has a very, very powerful countenance…

 

Courtesy of www.klaaskoppe.nl

 

Regards,

 

Johan

Edited October 2, 2005 by JohanO

[Maja]

http://www.junkbunny.net/pens/hardy.jpg

1840-1928

 

 

 

http://www.junkbunny.net/pens/dickens.jpg

Charles Dickens

1812-1870

 

 

I'm not sure what kind of writing instrument Hardy is holding, but Dickens is definitely holding a quill pen...

[Roger]

Why remarkable, Johan? We are no longer savages roaming the North American continent. Literature has great appeal in the new world and is widely appreciated.

 

Let's put it this way. I don't KNOW his work. I KNOW OF his work and have actually read a few lines here and there. His work is far too "in your face" for my liking.

 

His success, however, can not be minimized. Quite possibly the biggest single factor in bringing the Netherlands to their current position on aberrant behavior and their acceptance of it.

 

Now, before I get accused of being a homophobe, let me proffer the following and overused disclaimer ... I have and have had friends of the homosexual persuasion. They were friends because of other qualities and not because of their sexual preference. Also, and this is key, they didn't flaunt their homosexuality, just as other friends do not flaunt their heterosexuality. Privacy rules and for me it will ever be.

 

Now, just a doggone minute there, Mr. Geeraets. I'm almost exactly 12 years the junior of Gerard Reve. So there!

[Guest JohanO]

Hi Roger,

 

Well, of course I know that Americans aren’t a bunch of barbaric cowboys, roaming the infinite space of the Midwest. In fact, American literature is my favorite pastime! I graduated on American life and letters with a master’s thesis on the life and writings of the Jewish-American poet and critic Delmore Schwartz (1913-1966). My favorite authors are Saul Bellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne, while I’m an ardent admirer of the critics Edmund Wilson and Lionel Trilling.

 

In fact, I honestly think that some of the finest biographies, literary magazines and re-issued classics are published in the U.S.A. today. So, Roger, I’m very much an advocate of American letters!

 

Regards,

 

Johan

Edited October 5, 2005 by JohanO

[Guest JohanO]

It's a bit late, but I like to thank Maja for her posts on Dickens and Hardy. I like the pic of Dickens. A friend of mine collects historical autographs. He owns letters of Dickens and Hardy. It is great to see the handwriting of such famous writers.

 

Look at: http://www.kamakurapens.com/WirtTwain.html for articles on Mark Twain's pens.

[Stompy]

My paperback Hemingways from Arrow Press, have a picture on the inside of the older hemingway writing in an excercise book at a table. There is a stack of letters in a rubber band and a copy of Colliers magazine on the table as well. It looks like he's using a 51/61 because all I can see is a section going to a point and no nib.

 

I also vaguely recall a picture a Boris Spassky (Ex-World Chess Champion) with a 51 that I've got in my tournament book of his 1972 match with Bobby Fischer

[Guest JohanO]

Gerard Reve died last month. In Memoriam.

[handlebar]

A favorite writer of mine that is not musical or poetry oriented is (was) Shelby Foote.As many know,he penned THE Civil war series of the century (IMHO).And he only used a dip pen!!! Thats consistency!!!

 

Jim

Edited May 29, 2006 by handlebar

[M4R1N4]

A favorite writer of mine that is not musical or poetry oriented is (was) Shelby Foote.As many know,he penned THE Civil war series of the century (IMHO).And he only used a dip pen!!! Thats consistency!!!

 

Jim

Shelby Foote wrote ALL THAT with a DIP PEN?! :blink: Good grief... my hand would fall off.

[shadow]

Well, I mentioned this in another thread, but Neil Gaiman uses a Lamy 2000 and Safari, in addition with a Waterman's Ideal 52. He's also tried on Namaki Falcons and disliked them, because, while they started out nice, the longer he used them, he scratchier it became.

 

Jonathan Carroll is a lover of Parker 51, and if you visit his website, there's an image of the pen on the website's banner.

 

Elmore Leonard uses a Montblanc rollar ball pen, but not sure which model.

 

Stephen King also uses a fountain pen, but dammit, I forget which one...

 

Quentin Tarantino -- who doesn't write with fountain pens -- writes with a PaperMate black and red felt-tip pens.

[Maja]

My husband and I were at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle a couple of weeks ago (it's the one started by Paul Allen of Microsoft fame) and saw a display of some of the manuscript (Quicksilver?) pages written by Neal Stephenson using a fountain pen (no, the pen wasn't there, IIRC). The museum also displayed all the empty bottles of Waterman (I think it was Blue-Black) ink and empty cartridges of Mont Blanc and Jorge Hysek (I didn't know they made ink!) ink used to write the manuscript.

 

Nice to see the spotlight shining on fountain pens in such a prominent display....

[BillTheEditor]

If you've read The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, you know that the (utterly fictitious) fountain pen of Victor Hugo plays a minor but important role.

[RLTodd]

Stephen King also uses a fountain pen, but dammit, I forget which one...

I recall reading that was a one time occurance for writing Dreamcatcher as he was recovering from an accident or illness and could not sit in front of his MAC. AIR, he mentioned the pen was a Waterman.

 

I thought there was something about JK Rowling using single use gel pens and spiral school binders to write the Potter books.

 

I've seen mention that Steinbeck, Hemingway, and Thoreau preferred to write with pencils. Thoreau is kind of a given because his father manufactured them.

[Apollo]

Author Neil Gaiman uses fountain pens and is quite fond of them. He has stated that he likes the Lamy 2000 for his journal writing and even uses it when writing novels.

 

http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2003/12/...e-shirts-in.asp