Feathers shall raise men...

...even as they do birds towards heaven:  that is, by letters written with their quills.

--Leonardo da Vinci

A friend of mine recently taught me a skill I very much value: how to cut and sharpen my own goose-feather quill.   It was a challenge, especially since my left-handedness meant that she had to reverse all her usual directions, but before long I had my own quill, plus some paper and ink to try it out on.

I expected to be astonished that some of the greatest works of literature on earth were written with a quill, and in some ways I was.  But at the same time, it made perfect sense.  Writing with the quill required me to slow down, to think about every sweep of the nib over the paper.  It connected me with language in a new way...made me marvel at each letter as it was formed.  It was, in itself, the magic of poetry and the power of prose.

It was certainly an experience worth repeating, so I am going to learn a sixteenth-century style of writing called 'secretary hand'.  Perhaps then I will be able to connect not only with the words, but with the culture, on a whole new level.

However, in case you were wondering, I won't be giving up my laptop.  There's a different kind of beauty in the clicking of the keys, and I would miss it very much.  But that's a story for another day.