When I was in high school, I liked to post
quotations on my walls. There were funny mottos that I borrowed from the
pin-buttons at the science-fiction bookstore, inspirational lines from my
favorite poems, and memorable words from books I’d read a million times.
But I didn’t just scribble the words on a card and
stick it on the wall. No, I wrote them out in my best calligraphy so they’d be
a pleasure to look at.
Like these:
For years I’ve been meaning to do this again. For
instance, I wanted to write out “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe—maybe blackletter
would look appropriate?—and stick it on the pantry door. Of course, it would
probably take up the entire available space. I never even got started on the
first verse.
They say “the perfect is the enemy of the good.”
Sometimes it’s better to scribble a few quotations on index cards and stick
them up with painters’ tape than it is to wait until you finally pull out the
italic nibs and ink bottle.
The other advantage of the casual approach is that
the whole family can get into it. Set
out the index cards, some Sharpies, and off they go.
Here are some photos of the results. I’ve made the
photos larger than usual in the hope that you can make out some of the words.
top right
lower left
You may have noticed that there aren’t any
attributions on these cards. That’s deliberate. It’s a great feeling to see the
spark of recognition in someone else’s eyes and hear, “Oh, yeah! I love when he says that!” It’s also fun to answer the question, “Now,
where does that come from?”
Eventually these cards will have to come down to
make way for some other display. I’ve been told that they must remain up until the new year—but apparently it’s okay if we
switch to song lyrics some time in January…
Till next post.
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