Maybe he just likes the taste of ink on his fingers, or maybe he’s concerned that we won’t be seeing too many works like Jung’s Red Book any more, but Umberto Ecotells us that handwriting is good for the soul:
Why should we regret the passing of good handwriting? The capacity to write well and quickly on a keyboard encourages rapid thought, and often (not always) the spell-checker will underline a misspelling.
Eco’s own handwriting seems a little less than soulful, if we are to judge by this specimen:
His concern, however, is real: most kids – what with computers (when they use them) and text messages – can no longer write by hand, except in laboured capital letters.
And of course, we do know that computers don’t help you think. That’s best done w/ a sheet of blank paper and a fountain pen. My own love for ink pens stems from a different sort of “creativity” – I enjoy creating doodles out of the ink I spill.
But unlike Eco, I think ballpoint pens do have a purpose, especially during those endless business meetings:
Funny how the church goes silent when anything important happens… whatever happened to the “least of my brethren”?
Maybe the Pope got bought off by the insurance lobby…
Back in 1988 I did a little bit of research on “barbers in literature” for Dr. Rothman. I really enjoyed his classes – his Eighteenth Century Lit starring Samuel Johnson, and his Nobel Prize Winners in Lit class starring (for me) Garcia Marquez.
Back in the 80s it wasn’t uncommon to see Donald Barthelme, Rosellen Brown, Ntozake Shange, and Edward Hirsch all walking around on campus. Those were the days of Homer Noodleman…