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Practice your writing by typing out classic literature. This method not only enhances your understanding of rhythm, structure, and nuances but also connects you deeply with the timeless flow of literary history.This is a BETA version.

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The Horror at Red Hook

by H.P. Lovecraft

The Horror at Red Hook is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written on August 1–2, 1925, it was first published in the January 1927 issue of Weird Tales (Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 73–94). It is based on the urban legend of the Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York, and tells the story of a New York City detective who encounters, and becomes involved in, a series of occult-related events.

Read more about H.P. Lovecraft
The Horror at Red Hook
be an art demanding credit.  More people enter Red Hook than leave
it--or at least, than leave it by the landward side--and those who
are not loquacious are the likeliest to leave.



Malone found in this state of things a faint stench of secrets more
terrible than any of the sins denounced by citizens and bemoaned by
priest and philanthropists.  He was conscious, as one who united
imagination with scientific knowledge, that modern people under
lawless conditions tend uncannily to repeat the darkest instinctive
patterns of primitive half-ape savagery in their daily life and
ritual observances; and he had often viewed with an anthropologist's
shudder the chanting, cursing processions of blear-eyed and
pock-marked young men which wound their way along in the dark small
hours of morning.  One saw groups of these youths incessantly;
sometimes in leering vigils on street corners, sometimes in doorways
playing eerily on cheap instruments of music, sometimes in stupefied
dozes or indecent dialogues around cafeteria tables near Borough
Hall, and sometimes in whispering converse around dingy taxicabs
drawn up at the high stoops of crumbling and closely shuttered old
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Why Type a Masterpiece?

Typing out classical literature is not just an exercise in patience; it's a deeply immersive way to understand the rhythm, structure, and nuances of great writing. By manually reproducing the works of renowned authors, you engage with the text on a level that reading alone cannot offer. This method allows you to feel the flow of sentences, the choice of words, and the intricate construction of paragraphs that make these works timeless.

Style is a very simple matter; it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can't use the wrong words.

– Virginia Woolf

literati is a unique platform where writers can select from a vast collection of public domain classics to type out. This practice is akin to a musician playing pieces by the masters to internalize the elements of composition and performance. Just as the musician learns the subtleties of each note and chord, the writer learns the power of each word and sentence.

Prose is like hair; it shines with combing.

– Gustave Flaubert

Engaging directly with masterpieces allows writers to absorb the rhythm of the text, the ebb and flow of its pacing, and the beauty of its imagery. It cultivates an appreciation for the craft of writing and provides invaluable lessons in how to construct compelling narratives, develop characters, and evoke emotions in readers. Happy typing!

The only truth is music.

– Jack Kerouac

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"Imitate then innovate", an article by David Perell