“Writing …a consciousness-raising activity.” part one
This week’s readings have brought an awareness of where the act of writing has evolved and diversified. There is much to admire and many questions to ask starting with the art of printing press manuscripts. Walter Ong points out “…such things as early printed title pages, which often seem to us crazily erratic in their inattention to visual word units” (Ong, 2002 p. 118). This could partially be a result of the literacy levels among the labourers typesetting. “For visual location of materials in a manuscript text, pictorial signs were often preferred to alphabetic indexes” (Ong, 2002 p. 122). For workers not ‘fluent’ in the alphabet, symbols may contain visual associations speeding the process. Early printing press owners would be counting their pennies, the material and time cost per page and the profit margins. The fitting of type (sorts) would take precedence over misspelt wording resulting in unique copies.
While I applaud Jay D. Bolter’s enthusiastic embrace of emerging technology and its remediation of our writing system, I can’t help but think he has made some generalities that may be too broad and encompassing. On page 2 of Writing Space (2002), Bolter writes “Printing did displace handwriting… the printed book became the most highly valued form of writing. Another aspect of the importance of handwriting ‘hit me in the face’ just recently. I spend a fair amount of time at the hospital with a family member. It started at Admissions with the nurse finding the computer system very slow. The patient files, including complete patient history, were actually kept in a three ring binder and this binder traveled every step of the way over a five day period to the time of discharge. The masses of forms that were filled in with handwritten medical information were a mainstay in communication between the medical staff. I saw a trust level in that binder that was not seen elsewhere; especially with some of the electronic technology.
Children today still need to be taught the skills of hand printing letters and handwriting. (Are not certain learning conditions such as the diagnosis of dyslexia discovered through handwriting?)
When Bolter quotes Raymond Kurzweil (1999) “The book will enter obsolescence… it will linger for a couple of decades before reaching antiquity” (Bolter, 2001 p. 4) I do believe he is not taking into account that the book’s demise will be dependent on the staying power of electronics (including viable energy resources). One genre that may have a longer staying power may be children’s storybooks. I think of those (Velveteen Rabbit?) that contained inlays of texture and sound buttons. Can printed picture books hope to compete effectively with broadcast television and interactive video? Yes, I think so. Think about what I will call the ‘teddy bear’ syndrome whereby children will favour a simple, age old teddy bear over all the fancy toys as the ‘comfort food’ of toys.
Bolter, Jay David. (2001). Writing Space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print [2nd edition]. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Ong, Walter. (2002). Orality and literacy: The technology of the word. NY: Routledge.
I think you have made a good point about the trust that we have in a piece of paper. It is so easy for technology to go wrong, even in this day and age. I also don’t think that books will ever disappear completely. I think that we will likely own fewer books, but that people interested in reading and literature will always have some. For example, a fan of a certain author will defiantly want a signed paper copy instead of an image on an e-reader. I also love your example of children’s books. I don’t think that swiping through a picture book would be the same. Plus when they are very young flipping pages works on motor control in addition to the benefits of looking at a book.
Catherine
Hi Catherine;
Yes, I can see a growth in people collecting prized volumes much like records and art. The craftsmanship, whether in the construction or the content of each book will be its saving grace.
I came across this article in our Globe and Mail and while this is out of my budget, there will be organizations who will see the value in preservation. Isn’t there a saying: You don’t miss something until it’s gone?
How a conservator spent eight months ‘fixing’ a 545-year-old book http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/how-a-conservator-spent-eight-months-fixing-a-545-year-old-book/article25147738/
Terry