Dorothy West

I'm Yvette Benavides.

On this episode, Peter Orner and I discuss "The Typewriter" by Dorothy West.

It can be found in the collection The Richer, The Poorer: Stories, Sketches, and Reminiscences.

A man spends his days as a janitor, but in his imagination, he is someone else.

In Dorothy West's "The Typewriter," a young girl's typing exercises give her father an unexpected escape from the disappointments of his life.

As she takes dictation, he invents letters from a persona he creates, one J. Lucius Jones, a wealthy businessman who speaks the language of success, power, and money.

For a few minutes at a time, the drudgery of his real life falls away.

Then the typewriter disappears.