Writing is a wonderful craft. And though poetry may not be everyone’s cup of tea I love it. I also love nature and so I couldn’t resist writing a few words – in fact a poem about our relationship with nature. So herewith my poem “Patterns in the Sand” I hope you like it:
Patterns in the Sand
No more the rustling in the reeds
where finches shout out from the trees
as sunlight gleams on flashing wings
and yellow feathers drift like leaves;
Where grass nests swing in hammocked cadence
teasing muddied streams below;
and dipping branches brush the froth-foamed
earth-browned water’s bubbling flow.
No more the arches overhead
where branches meet in tunnelled shade
and close by on the shaded banks
the long-legged crane and water-fowl
print cross-hatched patterns on the sand.
For Nature was improved upon;
and altered till the wilds were gone
No mountain springs or inland streams;
but heated pools and cultured zoos;
with neatly labelled bars and cells;
all individual private hells.
Yes, Nature’s been neutered, cramped and computed
Her voice will be muted for decades to come.
She’s been catalogued and classified,
corrected and defined
homogenised and purified,
amended and refined.
Gusts of progress everywhere
Have blasted through the land
And finches’ nests have blown away
Like patterns in the sand.
It’s no secret that handwriting analysis is one of my “Creative Interests!” Writing is another.
Long ago I decided that writing and handwriting analysis went together like the proverbial horse and carriage.
In fact, because handwriting is so personal and so in touch with the human psyche, I thought it would be the ideal subject for my genius project.
Not only that- it’s the perfect medium for linking up with the minds of all kinds of people – even those who lived many centuries ago.
Great! I began by selecting 30 famous geniuses throughout the ages. That was the easy part.
Finding the Handwriting Samples
Finding the handwriting samples was another story. That was much more difficult and took a lot of sleuth work!
But even more difficult was getting permission to use the samples I did find.
I contacted libraries, universities and individuals all over the world. Most of them were charming and helpful – and even interested in my project.
An Irritable Librarian
But there was one irritable university librarian (who shall remain nameless) who wrote back laconically, “you may NOT use the handwriting” (of Niels Bohr I think it was). And with that another genius’s handwriting hit the dust in my rapidly filling trash basket!
But once I had my brilliant 30 neatly tucked into a genius folder, what a revelation it was! The handwritings were all so completely different and individualistic. How to find the mark of genius if indeed there was one?
I began to realize that the signs of genius were not so easy to isolate, after all. Besides, there are so many types of genius to consider.
Walt Disney
For example, Walt Disney was no intellectual from what I could see. To start with, he made atrocious spelling mistakes. And yet he had the most amazing imagination and talent.
His handwriting sample is the most challenging that I have ever come across. I mulled over it for days.
And then of course, Einstein wrote so simply and modestly. Where was the genius there?
Picasso’s Handwriting
Picasso’s handwriting was also a challenge. He formed his letters as he wielded his paintbrush – with a confident type of macho independence that seemed to reject every vestige of conventionality. Wild and angry it is filled with an aggressive, ground-breaking creativity.
I could go on and on about these geniuses and their handwritings – but of course, thereby hangs the tale. An exciting one I found, because it taught me so much.
The trials and tribulations of writing about genius
It’s no secret that handwriting analysis is one of my “Creative Interests!” Writing is another.
Long ago I decided that writing and handwriting analysis went together like the proverbial horse and carriage.
In fact, because handwriting is so personal and so in touch with the human psyche, I thought it would be the ideal subject for my genius project.
Not only that- it’s the perfect medium for linking up with the minds of all kinds of people – even those who lived many centuries ago.
Great! I began by selecting 30 famous geniuses throughout the ages. That was the easy part.
Finding the Handwriting Samples
Finding the handwriting samples was another story. That was much more difficult and took a lot of sleuth work!
But even more difficult was getting permission to use the samples I did find.
I contacted libraries, universities and individuals all over the world. Most of them were charming and helpful – and even interested in my project.
But there was one irritable university librarian (who shall remain nameless) who wrote back laconically, “you may NOT use the handwriting” (of Niels Bohr I think it was).And with that another genius’s handwriting hit the dust in my rapidly filling trash basket!
But once I had my brilliant 30 neatly tucked into a genius folder, what a revelation it was!The handwritings were all so completely different and individualistic. How to find the mark of genius if indeed there was one?
I began to realize that the signs of genius were not so easy to isolate, after all.Besides, there are so many types of genius to consider.
Walt Disney
For example, Walt Disney was no intellectual from what I could see. To start with, he made atrocious spelling mistakes. And yet he had the most amazing imagination and talent.
His handwriting sample is the most challenging that I have ever come across. I mulled over it for days.
And then of course, Einstein wrote so simply and modestly.Where was the genius there?
Picasso’s Handwriting
Picasso’s handwriting was also a challenge.He formed his letters as he wielded his paintbrush – with a confident type of macho independence that seemed to reject every vestige of conventionality. Wild and angry it is filled with an aggressive, ground-breaking creativity.
I could go on and on about these geniuses and their handwritings – but of course, thereby hangs the tale. An exciting one I found, because it taught me so much.
But that, in short, is how “The Mark of Genius” came about.
When I first decided to write “The Mark of Genius,” I began to wonder about the origin of the word “Genius” so I looked it up in my trusty little Latin-English dictionary.
I discovered that it came mainly from the Latin verb with its various parts; gigno, gignere, genui, genitum – to beget, bring forth or to cause.
How unhelpful, I thought!
What a tenuous connection to genius. And what possible link could it have with “begetting”?
And then the penny dropped. Of course! The most important thing a genius could do was to bring forth a new idea or give birth to a new creation.
A genius would undoubtedly “beget” some new scientific discovery; produce a great work of art; or start a new social movement.
Now obviously, this advanced type of begetting is not in everyone’s daily to-do list. It requires a person of special skill and ability – the ability of a genius.
It was an “aha” moment!
And that is how my book “The Mark of Genius” was begot or Begotten!
/fallseason/images/profile.jpg)
