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Instruments of Writing
"Pencil Drawing Its Shadow"
In this fine example of postmodern sketch, the artist demonstrates his meager skills by using a pencil to draw a pencil as it draws its own shadow. Freudians will be quick to see phallic symbols throughout the piece, but critics disagree over whether this stems from an intentional depiction of virility and creative energy or a subconscious sign of subdued masculinity and repressed lust. This drawing was drawn on a blank note card provided by Eric, who has also provided most of the comments on this blog.
I was perplexed today by a preponderance of pens. Everyone around me on my first day of College Algebra was holding a pen. I felt very insecure with my sharp number two pencil. Was I surrounded by math wizards who know they will never make an error to erase? I am prone to false starts in math; I would never attempt to calculate in ink. This is not merely a matter of my miserable mathematics, however. Any time I am to put words to paper, I need a pencil in hand — certainly wood, preferably cedar. Plastic pencils have too many pieces and tend to fall apart when I use them. Pens I use only to write checks and sign my name. Otherwise the permanence that pen-points effuse just doesn't suit me.
The pencil is an almost magical device, empowering creation at one end and destruction at the other. The two are inseparable with me, for my writing always implies erasing. This is a symptom of my inability to ever make up my mind. I am endlessly tweaking my statements, coordinating my conjunctions and canceling my commas, scheming up new tropes or repositioning a preposition. The right word often comes to me only after I have written the wrong one, and my most interesting thoughts tend to elude me until I get the dull ones out of the way. How would I manage without my eraser? Work is always in progress; a finished work isn't work at all.
I am also fond of the variation that pencils permit. I speak of shade, of tone, of nuance. With a pencil I have every shade of gray at my command. My lines can be bold or they can disguise themselves into the page. Ink is monochrome, and by extension monotonous.
Even so, it seems that others prefer their pens. I don't mean to put them down. I would not advocate that everyone do as I do or like as I like. I am simply curious as to what other people see in ink that I don't — not to make this a Rorschach test. Which do you prefer, pencil or pen?
3 Replies to "Instruments of Writing":
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Ellen wrote:26 January 2010 — 1:27 am
I like pens because I like to feel of the smooth lines that I create when I write. The pencil doesn’t quite feel the same. Sometimes, in an attempt at getting that smooth feeling, the pencil squeaks, which is really annoying. I also enjoy the color of the pen. It is black, strong, bold, without my having to press really hard, which would give my hand a horrible cramp if I were using a pencil to achieve the same boldness. I also like the feel of a piece of paper when it is covered by words written in pen. It feels like it is finished. A blank piece of paper feels empty and smooth, whereas a paper covered in pen feels finished, rough, subdued. Pencil can only achieve that when the writer pushes really hard, which, as stated above, is a problem. Pencil just blends in with the feel of the blank paper. It also tends to fade when it rubs against other paper, which is a problem, especially when writing multiple, consecutive pages.Yes, there are times to use a pencil, such as when drawing and doing math, but otherwise, I prefer pencil.
As for the monochrome and monotone color of the pen, well that is not true. I can shade with a pen almost just as well as with a pencil.
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Eric wrote:26 January 2010 — 11:27 am
Hey, you are finally using those note cards I gave you! Not to the exact purpose for which they are meant to be used, but used, nonetheless. As for pen or pencil, definitely pencil. I must not be one of those math whizzes in that class as I have a math degree, but almost always use a pencil. It is handy when trying to trace an error through a couple pages of work. However, I do prefer the mechanical pencils as those provide the nice feel of a pen without having the need to sharpen it. I do sometimes prefer the pen, such as when the pencil cannot give me the same boldness and clarity. In fact, there are only a few pens that satisfy my feel of smoothness. And I wonder who these critics are as mentioned in the caption of the photograph…
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Joshua wrote:29 January 2010 — 12:11 pm
It seems that a few more people have brought a pencil to my Algebra class with each new day, but there are still plenty of pens. It’s interesting how you both mentioned feelings of smoothness, but each had somewhat different ideas of what the ideal smoothness is. I actually prefer to have a little friction or resistance when writing, it helps me “feel” what I’m putting down. I’ve never noticed my pencil squeaking, but I do agree that they are noisier then pens. Ellen, I see why you prefer pen, we have almost opposite philosophies — you prefer to achieve something bold and finished, I prefer to achieve something light and revisable. We both use the ideal tools for our aims, I guess.