In having lost letters we have lost the practice of introspection, the discipline of observation and the focus of mind that putting pen to paper inculcates
Personally, I write as much as before - by email as well as on Word, and then paper. With a PC and attendant services, my texts are better. First, spell-checkers force me to be precise, and concise. Also, writing on a PC allows me to check my false memories at once, discover historical events I knew nothing about, and more. I can quickly evoke the telling detail or discovery. At the same time, I can be short: no need for lengthy explanations when a link to Wikipedia or a photo will do.
Finally, an ever-clean and nicely formatted page is a pleasure to behold and a terrific de-stresser. Gone are the feelings of confusion and impotence when too many corrections, cancellations and write-overs leave one discouraged or despondent. (BTW: I am able to deal better with pentimentos - easier than picking up any of the various crumbled sheets on the floor or the waste paper basket).
Finally, I can keep records: since ages, I save my texts either in Word or on Gmail. In fact, were it all to be on paper support, the collection would be humongous, and due to my age, I cannot outsource the vetting to my mother - as you did.
All this comes at a price - true. The lack of paper support makes going down memory lane somewhat more difficult. But it is a personal matter: I rather look forward than dwell in regrets.
Collectively, however, we are the victims of hybris. We want to live in the now and in the past as well. That's Faust's dream - and you know where he ended. We better accept the fact that the past is a foreign country, and that there is a right and duty - nay necessity - to forgetting.
Writing on a mobile - possibly in the car - is a different matter altogether. But that's outside the classroom framework you set.
I do a lot of emailing - inevitable in this day and age - but I have never stopped handwriting letters as well. I have a collection of pens and ball pens, I use sepia-coloured Mont Blanc ink, my paper is always Royal Executive Bond and I buy special stamps from the philatelist department in our GPO. My friends tell me they always enjoy receiving my handwritten letters.
Dear Pallavi - are you sure about the "losses"?
Personally, I write as much as before - by email as well as on Word, and then paper. With a PC and attendant services, my texts are better. First, spell-checkers force me to be precise, and concise. Also, writing on a PC allows me to check my false memories at once, discover historical events I knew nothing about, and more. I can quickly evoke the telling detail or discovery. At the same time, I can be short: no need for lengthy explanations when a link to Wikipedia or a photo will do.
Finally, an ever-clean and nicely formatted page is a pleasure to behold and a terrific de-stresser. Gone are the feelings of confusion and impotence when too many corrections, cancellations and write-overs leave one discouraged or despondent. (BTW: I am able to deal better with pentimentos - easier than picking up any of the various crumbled sheets on the floor or the waste paper basket).
Finally, I can keep records: since ages, I save my texts either in Word or on Gmail. In fact, were it all to be on paper support, the collection would be humongous, and due to my age, I cannot outsource the vetting to my mother - as you did.
All this comes at a price - true. The lack of paper support makes going down memory lane somewhat more difficult. But it is a personal matter: I rather look forward than dwell in regrets.
Collectively, however, we are the victims of hybris. We want to live in the now and in the past as well. That's Faust's dream - and you know where he ended. We better accept the fact that the past is a foreign country, and that there is a right and duty - nay necessity - to forgetting.
Writing on a mobile - possibly in the car - is a different matter altogether. But that's outside the classroom framework you set.
We agree on the fact that the past is a foreign country - but disagree on the value of nostalgia :-)
I do a lot of emailing - inevitable in this day and age - but I have never stopped handwriting letters as well. I have a collection of pens and ball pens, I use sepia-coloured Mont Blanc ink, my paper is always Royal Executive Bond and I buy special stamps from the philatelist department in our GPO. My friends tell me they always enjoy receiving my handwritten letters.
How lovely!! You are a rare bird these days.