Showing posts with label The Phenomenology of Writing by Hand Daniel Chandler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Phenomenology of Writing by Hand Daniel Chandler. Show all posts

Monday, April 12, 2010

The Vanishing Letterhead


Text, email, tweet, yeah, yeah, yeah....

From The Phenomenology of Writing by Hand:

"Planners tend to think of writing primarily as a means of recording or communicating ideas which they already have clear in their minds;

Discoverers tend to experience writing primarily as a way of 'discovering' what they want to say."


Sure, we all dig, most of the time anyway, the immediacy and always-on communication tools on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. I tend to fall in to the Discoverers camp when it comes to, what I call, thinking on paper. As far as I'm concerned a text, email, or tweet can never replace the emotional fullfillment and tactile experience of writing/composing or receiving an actual handwritten Thank You, Congratulations or Birthday message - especially when it entails the use of an official letterhead and arrives in the mail.



To me, there is still something so very cool, mysterious and exciting about recieving a hand addressed package or letter complete with stamps and postmarks along with the dings, smudges, creases and cryptic scribbles - the real and pure evidence of it's journey.

Yeah I know, dream on Michael, but it's nice to know that in our new world of virtuallity and simulacra, I'm not the only one that pines for the real thing: Letterheady.

That's Right,

HMK