Actor Tom Hanks spoke to students about typewriters in his short stories at Irvine Auditorium on Oct. 31. The event, hosted by the Free Library of Philadelphia, was part of Hanks’ book tour for his short-story collection, Uncommon Type: Some Stories.
The collection consists of seventeen stories, which include characters such as an Eastern European immigrant who arrives in New York City and a man who rolls multiple perfect bowling games. Each of Hanks' stories also features a different typewriter.
At the event, Hanks talked in detail about typewriters and called the "Philly Typewriter" shop on Passyunk Avenue a "national resource." According to NPR, Hanks is an avid collector of typewriters.
Hanks also addressed how writing and film-making are both solitary activities.
Hanks has previously visited Penn when shooting for his 1993 movie Philadelphia, a film for which he had won the "Best Actor" Oscar.
A scene in the movie was shot in the Fisher Fine Arts Library, then named the Furness Library. Penn received $7000 dollars for the two-day filming, a sum that a Penn representative called "minimal."
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