Writing On Paper
I used to write on paper because it was heroic.Poetry, lyrics, even passages for novels.I had three or four journals that I lugged around like trophies.Better yet, artifacts from a waning era that few still appreciated.I know that I appreciated it when I witnessed others writing on paper.It was a communal demonstration of the sacred.I couldn't stand when aspiring novelists assended upon the coffee shops with their laptops.Or aspiring musicians walked into a studio's vocal booth with crisp, clean copies of their lyrics.It was as if they were somehow cheating.There is something soothing in knowing you have a backspace key.And somthing pacifying about the nurturing embrace of a spell check program.I used to despise these things.Writing on paper showed bravery.In fact, my years spent writing on paper made me a better writer.Its harder to write on paper. It takes more committment.A blank page is a sobering mirror looking to reflect from the most inner dwellings of your thoughts.A blank word document on a computer is an excuse to surf the internet.Sadly, over the last several years I have converted to writing almost exclusively on computers.I don't know how this happened.Perhaps I was slowly seduced by the sweet sedative of convenience.Perhaps I have succumb to an element of fear in my writing.Regardless, I hope the pattern is not irreversible.I still revere the challenge of paper, even after I have lost sight of it.This makes me wonder about the generation coming behind mine.It occurrs to me that a great many of them may have never learned to write on paper.The thought of a paperless generation of writers is one that I find dreary and tragic.I hope that at least a few in the next generation have a place in their methods for that which is sacred.This poem is being written on paper.Tomorrow I hope to embark on another blank sheet of loose leaf.And the day after that, perhaps I will dust off an antique typewriter.Then get on the computer and Google where I can purchase some typewriter ribbon. Written July 2009 (On Paper) in Edinburg, Texas
