Cursive by J.T. Ratcliff

What does handwriting reveal about the unique twists and turns of one’s own personality or emerging sense of self?

This week the ‘inside’ writers at Chittenden Correctional Facility utilized Katrina Vandenberg’s poem Handwriting Analysis to ponder this, as well as to reflect upon “writing ourselves into the future,” one of the lines from the poem.

I’ve included the creative insights of three writers here:

My writing is curvy and slanted, almost unreadable to everyone else’s eyes.  But to my eyes, I can read it just fine.  My kids say it’s worse.  My boyfriend just guesses, and my mom, not so proud of my penmanship.  But I’ve had it my whole life.  It’s the one thing that I know won’t change in my life, and I wouldn’t want it to.  It’s what defines me.  It’s mine.  -MG

Handwriting: a window into a part of a person that they don’t always reveal.  Who they are, what they think, why they think.  The swoop of an “L” or “W.”  The feeling attached to a letter, the emotion in the words.  The “y” in “why” that tells you why.  The smiley face “i” that says “I am happy” or the scribble of “I was busy today.”  The large letters of fast or young.  The eloquence of days gone by when writing was the measure of a person.  Handwriting – communication when the voice doesn’t tell all.  -LS Continue reading →