Sunday, April 12, 2015

On Rediscovering the Joys of Cursive Writing

I've just started writing again in cursive script.

Succeeding generations of schoolchildren had to learn to write in it in penmanship class, back in grammar school.

Recently, a number of articles have predicted "the death of cursive"; how a lot of schools aren't teaching it anymore, and how anachronistic it is in the Digital Age.

What a shame!

The use of cursive writing, as opposed to hand-printing, is like the difference between Slow Food and Fast Food; you look forward to, and savor the first, and wolf down the second, just to get it over with.

The well-learned art of cursive handwriting is like making love; part of the pleasure lies in the length of time it takes. The irony is that cursive script was developed as a more efficient, and less time-consuming activity than printing separate letters on a page.

I went back to cursive when I realized I could barely decipher my own printing. Over the years, it had become more and more rushed, and more sloppy.

One day, I began to write in a neat, legible cursive script. It was almost as if the ghost of my third grade teacher was peering over my shoulder, telling me to pay attention, and slow down.

Who knows? I might be starting a trend.



2 comments:

  1. I'd have liked to have responded with pen and cursive script, but this keyboard will have to suffice. Just wanted to say that I recently read a study showing that hand writing is superior to keyboards as well when it comes to students taking notes in lectures. Retention is higher if they write by hand.

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  2. I think I told you once about a poet friend who truly believed that the sound of his pen on the paper was all part of the poetry he wrote.

    Great blog Marc, I'm looking forward to more.

    XO
    WWW

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