Blackboard Calligraphy

The other day I was helping to administer an examination. The teacher wrote the name of the exam on the board to be sure students were in the right room.

MM: That’s very elegant. Your writing.

Teacher: Oh, it’s nothing special.

MM: Come on, it’s beautifully spaced, the characters all have nice shape and balance. They have a certain flourish. Are you a calligrapher?

Teacher: Well, yes. I was a calligraphy instructor before I became an economist.

MM. THAT’s a jump.

With keyboards now the main word creation device for many of us, handwriting is something we do less of. Maybe we are becoming like the medics Earl Wilson refers to, “You may not be able to read a doctor’s handwriting and prescription but you’ll notice his bills are neatly typewritten.”

Sometimes the thought crosses my mind I should relearn handwriting. Maybe drop into a handwriting clinic. Do some serious doodling.

“Somehow I started introducing writing into my drawings, and after a time, the language took over and I started getting very involved with the handwriting and then the look of the handwriting.” Patti Smith.

There again, maybe my handwriting is just a reflection of my disorganized brain. Trying to improve my script would be just treating the symptom, not the cause of the condition.