Typewriting students wrote to Tom Hanks expecting no reply. Then one by one, the letters started to arrive

In an age where most communication happens from behind a screen, one high school class chose a different path. Students at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Pennsylvania learned how to use typewriters — and ended up hearing back from someone who loves them just as much: actor Tom Hanks. The story began when their teacher, Frederic Durbin, introduced an analog writing class to help students slow down and focus. "Although we talked about typewriters, how to use them, and use them in writing, the class ultimately really isn't about typewriters," Durbin told People. He explained that while typewriters were a "good vehicle" for the course, the real goal was to create a space that helped students "pay attention" and "focus deeply."

As part of the course, Durbin challenged the class to write letters to Hanks, a well-known typewriter enthusiast and collector. He said, "Within [the typewriter community], it's pretty widely known that if you write to Tom Hanks on a typewriter and you catch him at the right time, he will write back to you because he loves to do that." Each student wrote about something personal — favorite movies, books, or questions for the actor. One shared, "I remember I said, 'I have no expectation that you're going to reply,' so, literally, the entire thing is just me talking about my favorite book. This is the plot, and this is what happened."

Another added, "I just asked him three questions. One was what his favorite typewriter is, and if there's one that he wanted." They mailed the letters off in September and didn’t expect anything in return, but to their utmost surprise, in January, the replies arrived. "When I heard we were getting the letters back, I was like, 'Oh.' I was kind of embarrassed, but at the same time, it's like, 'It's not that bad,'" one student said. Another said they had jokingly asked Hanks to introduce them to Hugh Jackman. Durbin recalled, "He was great about it. He's like, 'If you want to get a letter to him, just send it to me and I'll make sure he gets it.'"

Parents responded with surprise and encouragement at this unique activity their children were engaging in. One student said, "I told my mom and dad and they were like, 'Oh you should frame it,' but they weren't freaking out." Another added, laughing, "My parents were really mad at me for asking about Hugh Jackman." The letters were thoughtful and personal, with Hanks engaging with the students directly, giving them a moment to remember for life. Durbin said the students wrote about topics that interested them, and Hanks's responses "invited further correspondence" by asking them thoughtful questions in return.

Since then, some students have gone on to collect and restore typewriters of their own. One said, "I own two. My dad helped me — by help, I mean he did all the work — fix and clean up one of them." Another added, "I own two electric typewriters, which are different than the typewriters we have in class. I'm currently mixing up my second electric typewriter." For Durbin, seeing his students connect with something tactile and with someone unexpected, was the real reward. He said, "We're able to offer some courses like this that are not what you would find at the typical school. Basically, if we can imagine something, we can do it."