Sunday 28 February 2016

Rediscovered

Hello all, thank you for your lovely comments on my last post. I love to read your thoughts and do appreciate the time you take out of your busy lives to leave a comment. I means a lot.


I'm going to share with you my rediscovery of something which I used to enjoy very much - writing. Not just composing words into meaning, but the act of writing itself, literally the putting of pen to paper. When I was a teenager I enjoyed copying out poetry and made my own anthologies. This was pre-internet, of course, so I had to borrow books from the library to copy from. My school projects were painstakingly neat and tidy, and I took great pride in their presentation, as you can see. This made me smile - my 13 year-old self decided to do fancy medieval-style titles for my Chaucer project. I wrote very small in those days.



Aged 17 my writing had become even smaller, and had lost its slant.



After that I did a degree in English and had to take copious notes, as well as write very long essays by hand (unthinkable nowadays) and neatness had to give way to speed.



As I moved into the world of work in an office job, I was processing lots of paperwork. No time there for fancy scripts. There followed many years of at-home child-rearing in which hand-writing was confined to shopping lists and the odd letter. Now that I work in a school, oddly enough my writing has become even more scrawly as I constantly try to catch up with myself, and I've often looked at it and sighed. 
Now I know that in the scale of things having neat writing is not wildly important, but it was something that I used to really enjoy. Having read blogs like Emma's in which she talks about the pleasure of letter-writing, I felt inspired to dig out my old fountain-pen and have a go at neatening things up.



Out came my favourite notebooks, so often unused due to my feeling that what I put in them needs to look as good as their exteriors (is it just me or do you ever feel like that too?).


I used to write with purple ink cartridges, but couldn't find any in my local stationery shops so started to investigate on-line. There I discovered J Herbin natural inks, and I almost swooned with delight. All those delicious colours, and with wonderful names like Gris Nuage (Cloud Grey), Poussiere de Lune (Moon Dust) and Larmes de Cassis (Blackcurrant Tears). I succumbed to a tube of Violette Pensee (Pensive Violet), a gorgeous shade of purple. I also found a mixed bag of pink, purple and turquoise cartridges in a bigger stationer's nearby. I was ready to go.


I must say that the habit of writing in a rush is a hard one to break and years of hurrying compels me to write speedily, making many mistakes as I go. However, I have talked a good deal about mindfulness in previous posts, and determined to slow down and take pleasure in drawing the ink across the page, forming the curves and straight lines of the letters, exhaling as I go, and just going with the process. and trying not to mind if I make a mistake. I've been copying out odd verses of my favourite poems and extracts from novels.





 I like to add little twirls and doodles as I gain confidence,




Having got the bug, I also bought these two calligraphy pens from an art shop. 


One is black,


 and the other 'hyacinth'. I think purple ink is still my favourite.


 Handwriting is such a personal thing, like a fingerprint, individual to each of us. I'm not bothered about being prescriptive about the rules of handwriting. Rather I like to see how my letters form themselves, an antidote to speedily tapping away on a keyboard. I once looked at the original manuscripts of writers' work in the British Library and was intrigued by their differing styles. There are often lots of scrawly crossings out on the pages, showing their mental processes as they wrote. This book is full of photos of the letter-writers' original letters, and it's fascinating for that very reason.


In my everyday life, of course, it's not practical to write slowly and deliberately, but I'm hoping that some of my rediscovered handwriting skills will rub off.


18 comments:

  1. I think your handwriting is absolutely beautiful. I have a friend who always writes with a calligraphy pen and I am always envious of her script. My handwriting, sadly, is appalling - years of copious, hasty notes at uni killed whatever little style it had and, like you, these days I get little practice. You have inspired me though - somewhere I have some turquoise ink; I'm off to dig it out, if only to write my supermarket shopping list! xx

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    1. Oooh, turquoise ink sounds gorgeous. Perhaps writing a list in it will improve the experience of everyday shopping!
      Cathy x

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  2. When I was in high school and early university I always wrote my letters and diaries with a fountain pen. How I loved seeking out those little cartridges filled with colored ink! I even had a little glass box to keep them in. I just sorted out our basement and found my pen again; sadly the ink is all dried up and there are no stationary stores around to poke around in. I guess I will have to look on-line, but I am afraid the experience won't be as satisfying. Letter writing has changed as well: those I corresponded with much prefer email to letters, even though I swear I hear from them less! Remember when you could get a pen pal from a magazine advert? Funny how I discourage my kids from speaking with 'strangers' on the internet, but I had pen pals I never met from all over!
    Good luck with your re-found hobby; thanks also for the memories!
    Jenn

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    1. I hope you enjoy your quest for coloured cartridges - there are lots to choose from these days. You're right that letter-writing has declined, but perhaps there will be a resurgence. I used to write pen-pal letters to my cousin in Johannesburg - it does seem old-fashioned now, doesn't it?
      Cathy x

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  3. Beautiful writing! Beautiful notebooks! I also feel that any new notebooks have to look super neat and attractive too.

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  4. Your handwriting is beautiful and you are right it is a lost art form,I love to see hand written items, but everything we do is tied to saving on our systems. I do love to get a card or letter, it is so personal. I have loads of letters and cards written by my mum, which I treasure. Thank you for sharing your post.

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  5. In 2011 I felt I wanted to "write" again. So I began a daily diary. I usually note the weather, if we did any important house improvements, visits with friends, etc. It's actually become a valuable tool when either my husband or I want to remember some specific event or happening.
    Each day I continue to enjoy the process of writing something down...just because I like to write!

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  6. How lovely that you are enjoying handwriting again, sadly a disappearing art form by in large. I used to love writing and always used a lovely fountain pen that an English teacher next door neighbour gifted to me. I also remember winning a handwriting competition when I was at primary school, we all had to write out the Ducks Ditty poem, is it sad that I can still remember that. However my writing now is not good, I think I always have to try and get everything down so quickly when I have to write anything and my writing definitely suffers. Perhaps I should get my old fountain pen out and try to write for leisure rather than something I have to get down quickly. I love your notebooks. xx

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  7. Your handwritting is absolutely beautiful ...(im not so go in writting)
    i like your notebooks ....have a nice week !!!

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  8. What a gorgeous post. I'm absolutely in love with ink pens and handwriting as well, and funnily enough I was just looking at that book of letters yesterday. I love the sound of blackcurrant tears. Calligraphy is something I'd really like to try someday. When there are more hours in the day..! CJ xx

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  9. I too love to write for the sake of it. I was given a five year diary in 1964 and have kept diaries on and off until as recently as 2007. Then suddenly this year I got the bug again and have written it every day so far. I also have a note book where I am compiling a seasonal anthology, and another for favourite poems mostly remembered from childhood. My hand writing used to be much better than it is now, but I put that down to many years of writing in shorthand - it makes you impatient to get the words down. Ruth

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  10. Thank you for the delightful post.
    My handwriting changes all the time, it is something I have yet to embrace.

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  11. You have such lovely handwriting! You made me want to get my fountain pen out again :) I like to try and write letters and postcards here and there just for the act of writing xx

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  12. Excellent. The purple ink really makes your writing special. Very relaxing, I should think. x

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  13. You have a great handwriting - it looks so beautiful! Looking forward to see more of your writings!

    Take care
    Anne
    Crochet Between Worlds

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  14. I'm going to look for the 'Letters of Note'' book, it sounds fascinating. I've seen examples of poetry by Wilfred Owen and Sassoon with alterations, crossings out and additions and it is so exciting, like being privy to their creative process.

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  15. So lovely. I hardly ever write by hand anymore.
    Amalia
    xo

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  16. I write with a fountain pen (I'm on my third pen in 44 years) or with a pencil with replaceable leads. It is a small gesture to reducing stuff - except that I've always done it. Like you all my school work and all my essays for my degree in English Literature were written with my fountain pen. I feel sorry for children today trying to master good handwriting with horrid pens. In fact is handwriting taught in schools nowadays or has it been replaced by the need to type?

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