A Lost Art Form

Melody at Slurping Life wrote about the creative expression of writing with pen and paper.
Funny, I have thought often about handwriting lately. I have found that I can hardly write a check anymore. And that a desire has once again bubbled in my to have nice writing. [I know it has to do with something I read somewhere...] I never had great penmanship but I remember working really hard on it as a child and even received a Certificate of Excellence in the 5th grade. [Maybe they made a mistake] Recently, I have desired that ability to WRITE again. I mean write note cards out for people in pretty, feminine writing.

Although my spelling is another issue!!...

I always longed for beautiful, flowing cursive writing. I love the writing on the back of vintage postcards, people rarely write like that in this age. It's a lost art. I too have lost my ability to write in script, I started printing everything in college. Then it became uppercase printing. Maybe it has to do with being left-handed. I've always gone about some things differently due to being left-handed and I'm notorious for running my palm through not-yet-dry ink.

Yet, when I wrote creatively while young, I alway wanted to use pencil and paper to write out my stories and poems. I needed the freedom to just - write and even erase. Final versions would eventually get typed out. At the same time, I journaled for many years; it was a release of teen-angst or confusion, a record of events and experiences, a healing act. Although in that act of releasing, of healing, I began journaling less as it seemed to only stir more anxiety rather then release it.

I stopped writing.

Then came the means to have a computer in every home. I was able to express myself again without thinking so much about my writing - and I had an automatic spell check!

Yes, pen and paper is becoming a lost art.

But it defines us, too. How we express and present ourselves to others outside the online community.

Sometimes everyday experiences can evoke many memories in me and I want to scribble them down as I recall them. I don't want to "lose" them again.

I took the above picture a few weeks ago because I liked the "realness" of the moment but I realized it had a piece of paper with random thoughts written down - about journaling, memories and writing. Since I don't consider myself a great expresser of thought, [and I can't spell to save my life] the picture left me feeling vulnerable so it sat hidden. Now it seems appropriate for this post.

I have volumes of notebooks holding scrapes of paper in them with poems, stories and thoughts all laying out a road map of who I am. They will never go anywhere, I can't throw them away. They represent who I wanted to be, who I was, who I became.

Now if only I had the lovely handwriting.

6 comments:

KG said...

My handwriting sucks.

I don't think that writing online is somehow "lesser" than writing on pen and paper, though. It's just different. Computers are a tool to enable us to write more and faster . . . it's up to the writer as to whether that enables better (or worse!) writing. It's a good thing we have computers - if I had to rely on pen and paper, nobody would be able to read anything I write!

Rose said...

I agree with you whole-heartedly! It definitely isn't lesser. It just doesn't have the same "beauty" and hand script does.

Thank goodness for the computer, as I would NEVER have gotten Harrison's baby book filled in!

As for better of worse on my part, well my spelling and punctuation are still something left to be desired!

Christina said...

I could have written this post! Seriously! Well, except for the being left-handed part. I have always admired pretty script, but my own handwriting is not so pretty. The only cursive I ever use is to sign my name, I always print. And I love the ease of typing, but at the same time I too sometime miss the notalgia and thoughtfullness of writing by hand, chewing on the tip of my pen as I think.

Anonymous said...

That is a fabulous photo! And I too love vintage postcards and journals. I am drawn into another era and my imagination runs wild.

Manuscript is a beautiful as cursive...print away if that is your "thing". :)

Love this post.

Anonymous said...

No one cares about the handwriting. When I see nice handwriting, I think, "That person spent too much time thinking about their handwriting." I love cross outs, and misspellings, and a mix of cursive and print. Do it, then share.

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

You can't spell. I can't spell. So what? -giggles- People can sound things out, hu?

Since I'm trying to rev up my snail mail again, after being away from it for too long -- I'm noting the mention of writing, in blogs. But right now, I don't remember from where, I surfed over to your blog. {I'm jumping from blog comments to blog comments.}

Anyway, anyway, anyway, my blog link is at the bottom of this comment. Perhaps you'll have some time to stop by it, and see if you might want to try out snail mail with me.

Mmmm, oh yeah, I'm in a week of an experiment of not having Comments turned on, mostly. But my email addy is on my Sidebar. If you wanted to tell me, yes or no, to the possible snail mail idea.

Thank you...
'Aunt Amelia'
'Aunt Amelia's Attic'

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