I read the last few pages of Script and Scribble by Kitty Burns Florey today while sitting in the warm sunshine on the deck in my backyard. The whole time I was serenaded by the worried meows of Waldo and Dickens who sat inside watching me through the screen door. They are strictly indoor kitties. I suspect though that Waldo’s meows were more because he was mad at me because I was sitting down and he was not on my lap.
Script and Scribble was a light, easy pleasurable read perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Though the pages are bright white and there was major glare bouncing up causing me to squint my way to the end since I don’t have tinted reading glasses.
It is a short book with very wide margins which frequently contain footnotes, or in this case, side notes. These notes are quotes, asides, or bits of information that is interesting but didn’t really fit with the main text. The only unfortunate thing about them is in the first chapter when somehow the numbering gets off so that the text superscription will say 20 but the footnote number on the side is 22. Since there aren’t scads of notes it isn’t a problem, only annoying and the issue is repaired in chapter two when the numbering begins again at 1.
Florey spends a chapter on the history of handwriting, a chapter on the great penmen/people, one on graphology, another one on handwriting in a digital age and how there are still quite a large number of people who are interested in the handwritten and fine pens. She winds up the book with a chapter on why it is still important to teach good penmanship to schoolchildren even though it is rarely done these days.
Cacography (poor penmanship) is rampant. Not that other time periods haven’t had their share of bad handwriting. But it seems that if children are taught cursive writing at all it is done as I was taught it in third grade (third grade apparently being the time when children have developed enough control over fine motor skills that learning cursive is possible, except if you are a boy because boys’ fine motor skills develop slower than girls’). The class is given an example of say, a capital and lowercase ‘s’ and a sheet of lined paper and then you practice the letter over and over until you get to the end of the sheet. After you’ve learned a few letters then you get to start writing whole words. Not much time is spent on it and probably it isn’t even practiced over the course of the entire year. After third grade you are expected to be competent enough to never have to practice again. Right.
Florey suggests the idea that computers will save us from bad handwriting is false. There is plenty of evidence that good penmanship is still important. Not all children have computers at home. In fact a good many don’t. She also tells a couple of stories about businesses in which the power has been out and they were forced to write out retail transactions by hand but no one could read the handwriting afterwards because it was so bad. And of course there are doctors who are notorious cacographers. In one such case a person died because the pharmacist, unable to decipher the doctor’s handwriting, gave the patient the wrong drug (the pharmacist was also found guilty because he didn’t call the doctor to verify the prescription).
I found out an interesting fact while reading this book. Apparently, if you don’t know how to write a cursive script, you have more difficulty deciphering something written in script. Theoretically, it is possible that if we ever reach a point where no one handwrites anymore, handwritten historical documents and ephemera will no longer be readable by the average person.
There is a short bibliography with a few books and websites that I will be investigating. I had all but given up on my attempt to improve my handwriting but I’m going to try one of the manuals Florey suggests. My handwriting improvement difficulties are due to the fact that I was taught a Palmer script (without the Palmer Method) which has all kinds of loops in it. I can’t get rid of all the loops in my letters. I’ve been able to minimize them but not completely eliminate them. It is not necessary to get rid of all of them, only the ones that make for difficult reading. And letter joins are supposed to be sharp and angular but again, mine are round and loopy. Muscle memory is a hard thing to change especially when it is so well engrained that it is unconscious. But I will try again.
In the meantime, here are a couple of websites Florey mentions that you might find interesting:
- Fontifier. For $9 (US) you can have your handwriting turned into a computer font. You can get a preview of your font for free. I am thinking of trying the free preview sometime just to see what it looks like.
- IAMPETH. The International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting. They have an awesome website with examples of gorgeous calligraphy, lessons, and videos.
- Omniglot. A website about different writing systems and languages from around the world including alphabets and scripts “made up” by everyday people.
Have fun exploring!
This is exactly the problem my son has with handwriting. He was taught too young and there was never a return to consolidate technique. His writing is truly awful. Mine is bad too, though, from too much hasty scribbling over the years!
When I look at handwriting from a century or two ago, I find it nearly impossible to read, so I can definitely see how our handwriting today might suffer the same fate — either because people don’t write by hand in the future, or because styles change so much. Surely we’ll keep a few trained experts around??
So interesting! I think it’s sort of criminal how bad most doctors’ scripts are — dangerous! But handwriting is an everyday art form and should be practiced by more people for sure. Myself included. Obviously. (you’ve seen my writing!)
Litlove, apparently it is never too late to tidy up your handwriting but there has to be a will. I don’t imagine your son would want to because if I were his age I wouldn’t want to either, too many other more important things to do. Supposedly a good hand and the proper script facilitates neat and legible notes even when taken quickly. But, I as I have discovered, it takes a lot of time and who has that?
Dorothy, I should think there will always be a few people fascinated enough to be able to read the handwriting from the past. I don’t imagine modern handwriting will fade out anytime soon and when it does you and I probably won’t be around any longer so we don’t have to worry
Daphne, the doctors I see these days have all gone to computerized recordkeeping and print out prescriptions. I can’t recall the last time I saw a dr.’s handwriting. I agree with you though that handwriting is an everyday art form that anyone can take pleasure in and can improve. And you writing is just fine!
I enjoyed your review of Script And Scribble and will definitely put it on my to-be-read list. I remember learning to cursive in school and was so happy to see the capital letter “L” – my letter – was such a pretty, loopy letter. I’ve kept a journal on paper with pen for years even though I’ve tried keeping one on computer, but there is just something calming to me about writing by hand as opposed to typing, which I never could master.
I received a handwritten letter just today and I’m planning to write back. What is the manual you are going to look at?
This book sounds really fun. And, who knew there was a word for poor penmanship?!
Laura, thanks! I loved those loopy “Ls” too! I also know exactly what you mean about keeping a journal on paper. There is something so soothing about it.
Sylvia, yay for handwritten letters! The manual is called Write Now by Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay.
Iliana, it is an enjoyable book. I was surprised and delighted that there was a word for bad handwriting!
I enjoyed this one as well. I liked all the tidbits she threw in, but wasn’t as eagle eyed as you with the numbering of the side notes! Good catch.
This made me want to learn Italic right away.
Thanks for the neat links, too.
Melanie, I am not surprised you enjoyed the book too. It made me want to buy a calligraphy pen and take lessons.
Stefanie: I’m delighted that you liked my book, SCRIPT AND SCRIBBLE. I will never cease to be mortified at the errors in chapter one. I’m an editor by trade as well as a writer, so they are particularly appalling to me! I’m still hoping there will be a paperback edition of S&S that will correct the problems, but that’s not in the offing quite yet. Meanwhile, my apologies to all. And thanks for this lovely notice, complete with cats. My husband and I just moved into a house with a completely fenced yard, and Duke and Duster are outdoor cats for the first time in their twelve years. Needless to say, feline ecstasy reigns!