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Sunday, February 12, 2006

Fountain, Pen

I found two absolutely fabulous websites for fountain pen lovers today http://www.fountainpenhospital.com/ and www.pentrace.com.

And my line of thought follows so.

In this cyber-age where everybody imaginable has a blog as long as they fancy writing, where does it leave the pen and paper kind of writing?

Call me a hapless romantic and sentimental fool, falling for antique stuff.. but seriously, how can you compare the feel of a pen in your hand and a keyboard beneath your fingertips??

The feel of your fingers entwining lovingly around a slender flute, your hand gliding smoothly across the paper, like an eagle in the sky, words forming easily enough, creating the distinct feature called your handwriting.

Think of that and then think of the relentless tapping of your fingertips on indistinct keys, the series of indiscriminate keyboards you handle, where's the personal touch?? Ok, you may type really fast at whatever speed, but really... is there anything else to it? The unintended typos, the faster-than-you-can-think typing... it's easy for the wholeness of your thoughts to get lost in the translation between mind to type.

Think of a fountain pen again, now. It's not just something you write with. It's the comfort of your grip, the uniqueness of your hand, the slow ease at which you write... to quote someone " A fountain pen lets you write slowly, to pause and choose carefully between your thoughts before you pen them down for posterity, before you run away with them." It was a comparision between fountain pens and ball pens actually, but how beautifully it describes the wonder of writing by hand.

A fountain pen is a measure of your personal equation with it, the amount of beauty you can or cannot coax it to create, it's a measure of your character on paper, it's a measure of you.

A piece of written paper gives a more wholesome picture of things than the screen you can stare at. The paper shows the unevenness of the writing, margins, the uniqueness of punctuation marks, the little blots and flourishes that add character to the writing.

What is a screen which has, at best, a selection of fonts and colours to choose from, tools to beautify the page, and yet, leave it monotonous with it's evenness. Beyond the words, what is there to indicate, to tell a story? What is an email sent across cyberspace compared to a letter written on scented paper with pretty borders, decorated with the hand you so cherish and admire, conveying news, emotions and more with its complexity of elements, a thing of art, a possession to treasure, to take out and read again, at leisure, to recount things as you do, evoking memories almost as though the writer were by you, narrating it themselves.

Those who are contrary minded will cite the convenience of speed and ease of typing, and the cumbersome task of refilling a pen, not to mention the time it takes to write... is it really convenience though??

Can a photograph compare to a memory? Can a picture indicate anything beyond the subjects it groups, their colour, expression and age? Can it provide a complete a fulfilling experience like a memory which encompasses not just the visual, but also the sounds that you heard then, the fragrance that lingered in the air, the talk that went on, the feelings felt, the flow of Life in that single moment??

Give me a fountain pen anyday. Give me the choice to create at least my signature. Give me the power to capture at least a little of the vast expanse of a life time in an eternal way, to be read by many, to be wondered at, to be cherished, to be the celebration of what glorious moments it narrates.

14 comments:

  1. i, so totally agree with u... a "fountain,pen"(<-- ??) is so much more romantic than this keyboard anyday..!

    there's so much of element in writing's with a pen .. the charm, the history, the feel ..

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  2. I'm glad u agree.. for a moment i thought the comment would be someone yelling horse about the advantages of keyboard tapping.. :)

    well, the title... was a little metaphorical trick. Fountain, Pen... i meant to make it a two word descrption, like.. 'something's not just this, but that too'... actually, more like, a pen is not just a pen, but a fountain of words, thoughts... get it??

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  3. Anonymous8:43 PM

    So, someone has to invent a way of puting writing on blogs rather than the impersonal typing. Did you know that there are people who have studied penmenship and can tell things about your personality by how you write your letters? Cool hu. (hmmm. looking at my penmenship, however, that's kindof a scary thought....) Thanks for the comment on my blog btw. very cool. keep writin'!
    -Gypsie

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  4. Anonymous9:06 PM

    p.s. I see you discovered Aaron Danforth's blog as well. How much time do you spend jumping around on these sights? Also, R U Christian?
    - Gypsie

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  5. I completely agree with you on that!!! Not to contradict myself... but you do have a point.

    There are times when the mperative is to finish what you're thinking/writing and change tack at will... it helps... but i'd never shie away from using a fontain pen.

    Thanks for visiting!! :)

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  6. Anonymous3:51 PM

    Keyboard allows me to hide behind the cloak of anonymity. Keyboard allows me to focus on substance over form. Keyboard unshackles me from my ugly hand. And, needless to say, ugly is an understatement.

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  7. :) i quite understand your frustration... to each their own, after all

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  8. i definitely agree about the pen being more personalised and more beautiful...letter writing has become such a lost art!

    hey liquiddjinn, yup there are people who analyse handwriting..its a new science called 'graphology' i was very interested in it myself, i think these days u could get a degree in graphology too..

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  9. Hi Mahi,
    thanks for dropping by.. what does YOUR handwriting say???

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  10. Anonymous9:52 PM

    LiquidDjinn is a link! Hurrah! I'd put people as links too... if I had a clue how to do it. Oh well. Niftiness! Ok, Dewdropdreems has a devotee!

    -Gypsie

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  11. Thanks Gypsie :D btw.. you only have to modify the template a little... darned easy... why haven't u written anything lately???

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  12. Anonymous6:07 PM

    Why Haven't I written anything lately? It's cause I am writing a play, thus less poetry. The play is a little long to post. btw. Posting comments seems an awfully uncertain manner for communication. If you actually read this and have a response: jesusparisite@gmail.com
    And... why haven't YOU written anything lately?
    - Gypsie

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  13. Anonymous6:23 PM

    there was far too much to say...so you might as well as go here and read it:

    http://spaces.msn.com/theroach1/blog/cns!82308FBBBE3E7A83!187.entry

    ReplyDelete