My earliest school memory is the cursive alphabet lining the top of a gigantic blackboard in the front of the classroom. We practiced over and over. By high school all us good Catholic girls had a very similar handwriting, just like sisters that taught us.
Now I still write in cursive in my notebook but my handwriting has evolved. It’s bolder, bigger and flourished. And I like it very much. It’s a pity some people can’t read it.
That's an amazing question, and so much fun to think about! I also write in a mix of print and cursive. I try to be neat about it.
A former boss of mine had terrible handwriting. She freely admitted it. And she had this [insert descriptive word here] habit of completely plastering my workspace with Post-it notes scrawled with her serial-killer handwriting so that I'd arrive at work in the morning and find my keyboard and monitor totally covered. It amused me at first, but then I realized how disrespectful it was of my space and time. Her handwriting took forever to decipher, too, so not only did I have to remove and organize all the notes before I could sit down and get to work, I had to pick over each letter/word and figure out what I was supposed to do. Like, just email me instead, you know?!
My hairdresser told me that the National Archives have a special project going whereby people who CAN READ CURSIVE translate the text into written documents, because of all the people who will not otherwise be able to read this historical documents.
Joining the chorus of print and cursive here. Cursive especially for letters that lend themselves to easily merging: d-e, pretty much anything to f and l, s, and my u and v are basically interchangeable. My grandmother taught me calligraphy as a girl and similarly, I hope my kids are amenable to learning cursive outside of school.
I'm honestly a handwriting FANATIC and take a lot of pride in my own handwriting. I wish I could ask more people for a handwriting sample, because I find it so fascinating to see how other people write. I freaked out my current therapist because early on, she wrote something down and I was like...can I see your handwriting? I try not to do it but it's so cool to me. I teach middle school and kids now don't learn cursive, which I understand, but it also breaks my heart a little. As things move more and more to digital work and responses, I feel like we're losing something special -- handwritten comments on an essay, stickers (middle schoolers love stickers), and so much more. Clearly, I have feelings about this haha.
The physical shape of writing can be a portal to the psyche. Two simple examples. My mother could tell my mood from just a glance at my writing in the handwritten address on letters I sent her, before she even opened the envelope. And, also, for years, I habitually printed for professional reasons, then, one evening, for no reason I could ever fathom, I suddenly reverted to cursive within the span of a few minutes. A very strange and unexplained feeling.
I also write a mix of cursive and print and I laughed when you wondered if people could read your writing. I wrote a thank you note recently and wondered the same thing!
I'm so happy to see so many folks who also write with print and cursive. I don't think I've ever printed a z because I love cursive z's, but all the other letters are fair game for either print or cursive. I wonder if my journals will be legible to others, and take some comfort in thinking they won't be!
Re the voice: there's a natural product called Singer's Soothing Throat Spray that has saved me again and again. I never go to AWP (or to book events) without it. Fair warning, it's utterly disgusting, but it will give you your voice back if you've used it up.
My first year of teaching, I'd write stuff on the blackboard in chalk. (The reference to "chalk" ages me considerably, I know.) Students began asking questions: "Excuse me, Dr. Markelis, what language are you writing in?". Oh the shame, not unlike the time time when Sister Salvatore made me stay after school to practice writing my capital O's. Now, O is the easiest letter to write in cursive. Sister told me my O's looked like oversized eggs wearing berets.
My handwriting has gotten worse over the years. I use the computer for almost everything. I've tried writing in slow, deliberate strokes, dotting my i's, but it takes me half an hour to complete one paragraph. Printing is not much better. Sometimes I think that if my handwriting was better, words would flow out of my pen in some magical way, allowing me to write pages and pages of thought-provoking prose in a self-satisfied and grammatically correct manner.
My mother’s first cousin Juanita had incredible handwriting - cursive, perfectly formed, fascinating to read. She lived alone and was quite reclusive. When she died, we went to Atlanta to settle her house/estate. On her desk we found drafts of a letter she had written me a few weeks earlier - if she made an error, a wrong stroke, she started again. It was as if her handwriting was the way she faced the public, and it had to be perfect.
I once did a mini handwriting analysis workshop as part of a team building exercise in a former job. It's fascinating how handwriting tells how the brain works and offers himts about personality tendencies.
I write in a mixture of cursive and print, and also trade up types of letters depending on where they are in a word (s, and also—an important distinction between the two letterforms!—r). I write by hand a lot, both for myself and as a very enthusiastic mail correspondent. The whole eye-hand thing gives me so much pleasure—I love fountain pens and ink and stationery, and I draw and paint also. It soothes and engages my brain like nothing else.
I enjoy handwritten notes, but have not written a letter in a long time. I have a special rollerball pen with blue ink. In catholic elementary school, we practiced our script in starched white shirts, using a fountain pen to dip into the ink-well of our wooden desks.
Wonderful piece, and sentiments. I would enjoy writing you a letter…
My earliest school memory is the cursive alphabet lining the top of a gigantic blackboard in the front of the classroom. We practiced over and over. By high school all us good Catholic girls had a very similar handwriting, just like sisters that taught us.
Now I still write in cursive in my notebook but my handwriting has evolved. It’s bolder, bigger and flourished. And I like it very much. It’s a pity some people can’t read it.
That's an amazing question, and so much fun to think about! I also write in a mix of print and cursive. I try to be neat about it.
A former boss of mine had terrible handwriting. She freely admitted it. And she had this [insert descriptive word here] habit of completely plastering my workspace with Post-it notes scrawled with her serial-killer handwriting so that I'd arrive at work in the morning and find my keyboard and monitor totally covered. It amused me at first, but then I realized how disrespectful it was of my space and time. Her handwriting took forever to decipher, too, so not only did I have to remove and organize all the notes before I could sit down and get to work, I had to pick over each letter/word and figure out what I was supposed to do. Like, just email me instead, you know?!
My hairdresser told me that the National Archives have a special project going whereby people who CAN READ CURSIVE translate the text into written documents, because of all the people who will not otherwise be able to read this historical documents.
FASCINATING!
Joining the chorus of print and cursive here. Cursive especially for letters that lend themselves to easily merging: d-e, pretty much anything to f and l, s, and my u and v are basically interchangeable. My grandmother taught me calligraphy as a girl and similarly, I hope my kids are amenable to learning cursive outside of school.
I'm honestly a handwriting FANATIC and take a lot of pride in my own handwriting. I wish I could ask more people for a handwriting sample, because I find it so fascinating to see how other people write. I freaked out my current therapist because early on, she wrote something down and I was like...can I see your handwriting? I try not to do it but it's so cool to me. I teach middle school and kids now don't learn cursive, which I understand, but it also breaks my heart a little. As things move more and more to digital work and responses, I feel like we're losing something special -- handwritten comments on an essay, stickers (middle schoolers love stickers), and so much more. Clearly, I have feelings about this haha.
The physical shape of writing can be a portal to the psyche. Two simple examples. My mother could tell my mood from just a glance at my writing in the handwritten address on letters I sent her, before she even opened the envelope. And, also, for years, I habitually printed for professional reasons, then, one evening, for no reason I could ever fathom, I suddenly reverted to cursive within the span of a few minutes. A very strange and unexplained feeling.
I also write a mix of cursive and print and I laughed when you wondered if people could read your writing. I wrote a thank you note recently and wondered the same thing!
Same. A mix of cursive and print characters, and some characters are a hybrid.
I'm so happy to see so many folks who also write with print and cursive. I don't think I've ever printed a z because I love cursive z's, but all the other letters are fair game for either print or cursive. I wonder if my journals will be legible to others, and take some comfort in thinking they won't be!
Re the voice: there's a natural product called Singer's Soothing Throat Spray that has saved me again and again. I never go to AWP (or to book events) without it. Fair warning, it's utterly disgusting, but it will give you your voice back if you've used it up.
My first year of teaching, I'd write stuff on the blackboard in chalk. (The reference to "chalk" ages me considerably, I know.) Students began asking questions: "Excuse me, Dr. Markelis, what language are you writing in?". Oh the shame, not unlike the time time when Sister Salvatore made me stay after school to practice writing my capital O's. Now, O is the easiest letter to write in cursive. Sister told me my O's looked like oversized eggs wearing berets.
My handwriting has gotten worse over the years. I use the computer for almost everything. I've tried writing in slow, deliberate strokes, dotting my i's, but it takes me half an hour to complete one paragraph. Printing is not much better. Sometimes I think that if my handwriting was better, words would flow out of my pen in some magical way, allowing me to write pages and pages of thought-provoking prose in a self-satisfied and grammatically correct manner.
My mother’s first cousin Juanita had incredible handwriting - cursive, perfectly formed, fascinating to read. She lived alone and was quite reclusive. When she died, we went to Atlanta to settle her house/estate. On her desk we found drafts of a letter she had written me a few weeks earlier - if she made an error, a wrong stroke, she started again. It was as if her handwriting was the way she faced the public, and it had to be perfect.
❤️❤️❤️
I once did a mini handwriting analysis workshop as part of a team building exercise in a former job. It's fascinating how handwriting tells how the brain works and offers himts about personality tendencies.
I write in a mixture of cursive and print, and also trade up types of letters depending on where they are in a word (s, and also—an important distinction between the two letterforms!—r). I write by hand a lot, both for myself and as a very enthusiastic mail correspondent. The whole eye-hand thing gives me so much pleasure—I love fountain pens and ink and stationery, and I draw and paint also. It soothes and engages my brain like nothing else.
It's all so dreamy!
Dear Jami,
I enjoy handwritten notes, but have not written a letter in a long time. I have a special rollerball pen with blue ink. In catholic elementary school, we practiced our script in starched white shirts, using a fountain pen to dip into the ink-well of our wooden desks.
Wonderful piece, and sentiments. I would enjoy writing you a letter…
Sincerely,
Charles E. or Chuck 🙏
I also mix cursive and block print letters when I hand write a note.
I have also began to skip creating capital letters if I am handwriting a note.
Out here being a lack less capital letter hooligan. Ha!
I like the shape of letters while handwriting as well.