The Pen, a Primitive Weapon
At Eighty I Get Gutsy
A pen is a much more primitive instrument. You feel that the words are coming out of your body, and then you dig the words into the page. Writing has always had that tactile quality for me. It’s a physical experience. Paul Auster
The Sounds of Cursive Writing
The quiet of the early morning, only the hissing of the espresso machine in the kitchen and the gurgling of the ice machine can break the silence. Before dawn, my writing time, I light a candle and begin my routine with five minutes of paying attention to my surroundings: the zig zag orange pillows, the recessed lighting, the covers over the windows and doors, everything I see becomes an essay, sparked by focusing on concrete details and learning to write into the silence.
I only hear my gel pen as it glides across the yellow-lined paper. The quality of the legal pad changes the sound of the cursive—cheaper paper makes scratchy sounds—better paper allows for quieter writing. Silence makes the words possible; attention brings them to life.
The Cursive/Brain Connection
A new EEG study at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU,) “showed that cursive handwriting primed the brain for learning by synchronizing brain waves and stimulating more electrical activity in the brain’s central regions which is important for memory and encoding of new information and, therefore, provides the brain with optimal conditions for learning.” (Frontiers in Psychology, July 28, 2020.)
Audrey van der Meer, part of the above NTNU team added, “A lot of senses are activated by pressing the pen on paper, seeing the letters you write, and hearing the sound you make while writing. These sense experiences create contact between different parts of the brain and open the brain up for learning.”
The Cursive Slant
Did I ever tell you how I practiced my penmanship when I was eight years old? Always using lined paper, I was able to work on my loops. I wrote for hours because I wanted to have beautiful cursive like my dad.
I watched as he held the fountain pen in his fingers, with flair he’d dash off his signature, carefully wording those permission slips he gave me to miss gym class. We never spoke of those times his beautiful hands so quickly transformed from loops to whacks.
I’d take the pencil in my hand and move it effortlessly across the smooth yellow paper. The side of my palm gliding across satin. Like a skater or ice dancer I’d swirl my fingers always keeping the perfect angle, the way my dad showed me. Much later I’d understand my ability to write words on a slant was a small thing that saved me.
Are you a cursive writer? Do you draft your essays on paper first and then transfer to the computer? Let me know in the COMMENTS and thank you so much for encouraging my writing by subscribing to Get Gutsy.
I saw, tasted, heard and felt all of it… beautiful. Thank you for reminding me how important that 5 minute pre-writing ritual is. Observation IS writing. It puts us in touch with our senses, doesn’t it. 💕
This zinger stole my breath! We never spoke of those times his beautiful hands so quickly transformed from loops to whacks.
I like that you included the brain science connection to writing with a pen and the origin of your love for it. I don’t handwrite as much as I used to, but maybe that's because I include penwork in my art, which gives me that tactile connection and feeling you write about. Good morning, Trish.
Mxo