Fine Writing - Stylus Magazine

faithful to their first love in
the medium of the written
word. These noble literati continue
to take pen or pencil
in hand and manually make
their mark on paper, creating
new worlds and ideas in the
spirit of the scribes that came
before them. As we look at
various writers of longhand,
we will explore why an artist
has chosen to practice his or
her craft in such a way and,
at the same time, learn which
fine writing instruments they
use and for what reasons.
Featured Author:
Tom Robbins
It was only twenty-two years
ago with the release of his
first novel, Another Roadside
Attraction, that Tom robbins
sauntered cunningly onto the
literary scene, instantly building
a reputation as the master
of metaphor and a writer of
screwball prophetic tales. Now
with seven novels to his credit,
such as the No. 1 bestselling
Still Life with Woodpecker and
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,
which was directed in filmform
by Gus van Zandt, he
has given the world another
work of literary fun, Villa
Incognito. Hailed suitably by
bookreporter.com as “a dizzying
sandwich of characterization,
philosophizing and
digression,” this long-awaited
eighth novel spent several
weeks on the bestseller list
since its release last April. In
the wake of a whirlwind book
tour, I was able to catch up
with Tom robbins to ask him
a few questions about his writ-
ing methods and feelings on
longhand composition.
“There is no simple answer
as to why I write longhand. I
write very slowly and like to
watch the ink soak into the
wood pulp. I find it an organic
process. my old friend Timothy
you humility to see your mistakes.”
Now a devotee to the longhand
method, robbins equates
the fate of longhand writing
to the “fate of the planet itself,”
and particularly rails against
the negative effects email will
“There is no simple answer as to why I write longhand.
I write very slowly and like to watch the ink soak into the
wood pulp. I find it an organic process.”
Leary called me a wood-pulp
junky,” he mused in very robbinsian
fashion. “I believe ink
to be the blood of language and
paper to be the flesh.”
Though his first two novels
were written on a typewriter,
it was while working on the
third that he finally attained
belief in the importance of
longhand composition. A
sample of his longhand can
be seen in any copy of Still
Life with Woodpecker, where
the last few pages are written
in his own handwriting. (robinson
describes his handwriting
as resembling “the nasty
scrawls chalked on alley walls
by mongolian monster boys.”)
This personal handwriting
he values as the mark of the
individual.
“I am someone for the
individual, not conformity;
in handwriting, the individual
comes through,” he says taking
an almost political stance.
“Longhand makes you see
your mistakes. On a computer
things disappear; it gives
freehanding with …
have on the next generation’s
spelling, grammar and nuance
of handwriting. Though he
believes that “the fate of the
pen is in big trouble” he is optimistic
enough to hope for a
backlash against the computer.
In the way of pens, robbins
owns an antique Scheaffer
made of green tortoise shell
but prefers not to work in the
fountain pen style. For his daily
craft he uses ballpoints, either
Flares or Stingers, one at a time
until they run dry, and out of
habit and ritual he kisses each
spent pen in gratitude for its
contribution before throwing
it away.
A true American storyteller
in the comic philosopher
tradition of mark Twain, Tom
robbins is a joy to read and to
ponder. His newest work, Villa
Incognito, shows that he is still
up to his old tricks and still a
vital player on the literary stage.
So with pen in hand and head
in the clouds he continues to
preserve an endangered tradition
writing every day and for
s t y lu s OcTOBer/NOvemBer 2003 81