Review: The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting

 Anne Trubek, The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting. Bloomsbury, 2016.

A delightful and informative introduction to writing in general and handwriting in particular. We learn quickly that one cannot talk about writing without also talking about the surface on which one writes, the writing instrument, who is writing, the purpose of writing, the culture in which this writing occurs, and the question of whether handwriting reveals something about a person’s personality, intelligence, and social status. Trubek's survey begins with Sumerian Cuneiform and continues with Egyptian hieroglyph, Greek and Roman letters before focusing on English. The development of the different kinds of script during the medieval period is confusing.  She leads us through the major developments without bogging us down in unnecessary details. As it turns out, the development of different forms of script is as much about the need for efficiency and speed as it is about purpose and communication. 

 

Beyond introducing her readers to handwriting, Trubek also makes the point that we are living in a time of transition. Our time of transition is effectively illustrated on page 12. “The simultaneous use of different writing technologies was happening in the coffee shop where I typed this chapter.  Looking up, I saw people using a pen to annotate a paperback, a cell phone to text, a laptop to write, and a pencil to take note of a transaction at the cash register. Some days, a twentysomething hipster comes in with his manual Remington typewriter, too.” 

 

Transition periods that utilize different communication methods have occurred before.  No technology disappears overnight. So, the situation that she begins the book with will likely continue for the foreseeable future. On any given day in a third-grade classroom, a child will have occasion to print by hand, practice cursive writing, and write using a keyboard.  For those of us that are concerned that handwriting will continue to diminish, Anne Trubek gives us hope.  What is certain is that writing with words, regardless of the medium, will remain in use.