Forgotten Things: Pen-Boxes and their Stories.

Abstract

Roland Barthes maintained that writing is not merely a technological process but also a physical, sensory experience. It involves the pleasure of sitting in front of a blank page made of good quality paper, of choosing a pen from a pen-case, holding it, dipping the nib in ink and following the movement of the hand as it shapes the letters, the words and the sentences. Much has changed since Barthes wrote the preface of La civilisation de l’écriture, and most writers whether academics or not type their texts sitting in front of a screen. Still, PCs, Macs, tablets and Ipads do not seem to fill an inexpressible absence and most of us keep at hand a clutter of pens, pencils and other writing paraphernalia. Some objects pertaining to writing activities keep a certain sensory attraction; they trigger memories and remind us of other ways of doing things in a not so far away past. Old pen-boxes are among these outdated objects. It is a pleasure for me to offer this brief essay about material accessories to writing, their thingness and their polyphonic short stories to my long-standing friend and colleague, Gunvor Mejdell.