;pinion
and individually. If our writing is digitally
standardized, does this erase some of our
personality, even our humanity?
I believe that the shift to digital for our everyday communication actually serves to imbue
handwriting with more value and infuse it with
more creativity. We’re witnessing the beginning
of a Slow Writing movement, where those who
write by hand are devoting increasing levels of
care and connoisseurship to the skill.
While schools debate the role of cursive in
education, writing by hand is making an extracurricular comeback. Artful lettering, cursive
and calligraphy are on the rise, more interesting
now that their utility has largely passed. Using
a slower pace, artisanal tools and a handmade
ethos, scrapbooking and journalling are enjoying
a resurgence as well. And it’s not just those of a
certain age indulging in handwriting nostalgia;
20-somethings queue up for tattoos inked in
cursive. Hip restaurants and co;ee shops tout
their o;erings on menus creatively scripted on
chalkboards. The sheen of the personal that
handwriting implies resonates with consumers.
Even the digital world is getting into the act.
Your new tablet probably comes with a stylus to
capture handwritten notes, Snapchat users add
handwritten elements to their posts, and Apple
released a new handwriting function in its iOS 10
messaging software. Products like Montblanc
Augmented Paper and the Rocketbook Wave
journal plug pad-and-pen into a new digital realm.
A century or so ago in England, a similar Slow
Writing campaign arose when William Morris
and the Arts and Crafts Movement responded to
the Industrial Revolution by calling for a return
to pre-industrial crafts. In response to the
new surfeit of printed matter—newspapers,
pamphlets, brochures—aficionados recreated
medieval handwriting methods. Morris’ friend
Edward Johnston spearheaded a calligraphic
trend, researching the writing processes of
medieval monks and rallying others to teach
themselves those methods. “The traditions of
the early scribes and printers and carvers have
decayed,” he lamented. “ We have become so used
to inferior forms . . . that we hardly realize how
poor the bulk of modern lettering really is.”
Today’s Slow Writing movement taps into a
desire to take time with life’s more meaningful
endeavours. A handwritten thank-you card
is thoughtful not only for the attention it takes
to compose the message—carefully, without
a delete button for revisions—and add ink to
paper, but also because the sender has to find
an envelope, an address, a stamp, a mailbox. It
is precisely because it is less e;cient that many
of us choose to write by hand for tasks like letter-
writing and journalling. In doing so, we create
a tiny bit of space in our hectic lives.
I predict that we’ll continue to see a surge
in handwriting as an art form. Though we
shouldn’t lose sight of the extraordinary advantages of keyboards, which allow us to write as
fast as we think, and to examine our thoughts
and change our minds as we do, we can still
appreciate the slower beauty of handwriting.
As a practical way to communicate, hand-
writing may soon be as obsolete as the typewriter.
If that happens, I suspect it will find its way back
into the classroom, this time taught in elective
art classes. Freed of its function in everyday
messages, handwriting can flourish as a creative
form of expression. ;
Anne Trubek , who has written for The New York Times
and Salon, is author of the new book The History and
Uncertain Future of Handwriting (Bloomsbury).
“I believe that the shift to digital for our everyday communication actually serves to imbue handwriting with more value and infuse
it with more creativity. ”
NOTEWORTHY
Enjoy the act of
putting pen to
paper: See a selec-
tion of exquisitely
crafted, luxurious
fountain pens
on page 74.
Described as an “analogue
system for the digital age,” the
bullet journal trend is moving
as fast as, well, a speeding
bullet. Created by Brooklyn-
based designer Ryder Carroll,
the idea is part daily planner,
part to-do list, part diary. The
journalling and note-taking
method uses bullet points as
the core structure, with various
bullet symbols to track the status of each entry. Users start with a blank
notebook and add numbers to represent each day. Instead of writing long
sentences or paragraphs, the key is to “rapid log,” or jot down quick notes,
goals or tasks, and use the symbols to mark items as in progress, completed
or saved for another day. The simple structure allows for plenty of personal
flair and handiwork, and fans often share their creative pages using the
hashtag #bujo.
DEAR DIARY
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