The Death of Handwriting
This got me. Imagine a world without handwriting. Grandma's scrawl inside birthday cards. Handwritten love-notes. Bartleby the scrivener. All gone.
Of course, I am a handwriting freak. I love my handwriting flowing across the page. I make my to-do lists in cursive. I know this is rare. I see myself in my handwriting, changing with my mood. The loops on my y's are big today; I'm leaning forward; I'm closed off. I'm no handwriting analyst (although I would love to study that sort of thing).
I love other people's handwriting. I love my dad's characteristic cursive--I don't know how to describe it, but it's just so him. Defiantly legible and unchangingly odd with a firm contact with the page. My mom's sweeping, fluffy hand, frequently diagonal inside a card. My boyfriend's chickenscratch, existing in time.
Tiny handwritten cards from Samuel Beckett to Mabou Mines (in their archive at NYU, for those who want to see), a master's world in brevity. The photocopies have power but the actual cards blew me away: Samuel Beckett didn't just touch this--he put his handwriting onto it, the shape of his soul (and let's see if his estate sues me for saying he has a soul...).
Your name written in a friend's hand. What can replace that?
Do you write more in cursive or print? How do you use your handwriting? Am I the only person freaking out about this? Does this fall onto deaf fingers? What's your take?
This got me. Imagine a world without handwriting. Grandma's scrawl inside birthday cards. Handwritten love-notes. Bartleby the scrivener. All gone.
Of course, I am a handwriting freak. I love my handwriting flowing across the page. I make my to-do lists in cursive. I know this is rare. I see myself in my handwriting, changing with my mood. The loops on my y's are big today; I'm leaning forward; I'm closed off. I'm no handwriting analyst (although I would love to study that sort of thing).
I love other people's handwriting. I love my dad's characteristic cursive--I don't know how to describe it, but it's just so him. Defiantly legible and unchangingly odd with a firm contact with the page. My mom's sweeping, fluffy hand, frequently diagonal inside a card. My boyfriend's chickenscratch, existing in time.
Tiny handwritten cards from Samuel Beckett to Mabou Mines (in their archive at NYU, for those who want to see), a master's world in brevity. The photocopies have power but the actual cards blew me away: Samuel Beckett didn't just touch this--he put his handwriting onto it, the shape of his soul (and let's see if his estate sues me for saying he has a soul...).
Your name written in a friend's hand. What can replace that?
Do you write more in cursive or print? How do you use your handwriting? Am I the only person freaking out about this? Does this fall onto deaf fingers? What's your take?
VIEW 10 of 10 COMMENTS
corinthia:
I can write cursive just fine, but I tend to print because if I'm writing quickly, my printing turns out more legible than my cursive.
theinsomniac:
Actually, she never cooked for me. So, that's one up for you.