A Lefty in a Right-handed Script World
Despite the right-handed propaganda machine—ink smudges, scissors, and nuns with rulers—lefties persist. Historically, left-handed people have been forced to change their handedness after the advent and mass-adoption of the Latin alphabet globally. The Latin alphabet, while not intentionally designed for right-handed use, was designed to favor right-handed scirbe.
When I was younger, high school circa 2015, I attempted calligraphy. But because of my left-handed smudges, I was dissuaded from continuing the practice. In early 2023, I attended a workshop with Nina Tran called ‘Fraktur & Flourishing’. In this workshop, Nina imparted a critical piece of advice that shifted my mindset on calligraphy. “Rotate the paper”. A very simple shift in technique that helped to open the door for my further exploration and education in calligraphy. This article is made with the hope of educating the would-be left-handed scribe.
History, Evolution & The Broad Nib Latin Alphabet
People with left-handedness make up approximately 10% of the world's population. The rarity of left-handed people can be attributed to several key factors: Evolutionary factors (social cooperation and competition), Genetic factors (brain laterality, genetic mutations, multiple genes), and Environmental factors (culture and socialization, and tools/devices). Evolutionarily, within social groups, it is beneficial that people have a common handedness to facilitate cooperation. Additionally, the NIH (USA’s National Institute of Health) proposes that left-handedness could have provided a slight advantage in hand-to-hand combat and other rather specific scenarios, possibly catching right-handed people off guard and giving the lefty more room to defeat them. Genetically, handedness is not determined by a single gene but instead is determined by the interplay of multiple genes and epigenetic factors (approximately 40 genes); however, it’s also possible that left-handedness is the result of genetic mutations that influence the brain's asymmetry and hand preference. Furthermore, that asymmetry in the brain can be explained by the fact that motor control of one side of the body is controlled by the opposite side of the brain. So, a left-handed person’s brain could be explained by a more developed right hemisphere of the brain. Environmental factors such as culture, socialization, and tools can heavily influence someone’s handedness, specifically in their developmental years. In my opinion, this is the crux of why left-handedness is so rare and rarely accommodated. And is especially true for the calligraphic community. There is a heavy emphasis in calligraphy to maintain “proper” technique in holding your pen and positioning your paper in a specific alignment to your shoulder/chest. “Proper” technique, unfortunately, cannot be simply flipped to accommodate left-handedness because there are specific requirements of various scripts as well as a need for consideration of different types of pen holders. Additionally, there is a culturally adverse aspect of left-handedness, religion, specifically Christianity. While there is no direct biblical condemnation of left-handedness, many private Christian schools still practice restricting the left arms of children to reinforce the usage of the right hand. This has historically impacted how many people are left-handed. This practice has existed as far back as the 17th century. This stems from the belief that the devil baptizes his followers with his left hand, or a witch will greet you with her left hand. The cultural condemnation of left-handedness and the rarity of left-handedness have resulted in fewer tools for left-handed people. Go to Michael's or your local craft store and see how many left-handed scissors you can find in comparison to right-handed scissors. The Latin script is no different.
Broad Nib Latin Alphabet
The Latin alphabet used by the Romans was informed by the Old Italic alphabet, which was written by the Etruscans. The inception of the Latin alphabet, specifically Roman capitals, can be traced back to the Trajan Column. These capitals were written by a flat/square brush and then chiseled in stone. At the foot of the Trajan column in Rome is a short dedication to the monument of Emperor Trajan. These capitals are very important to the rest of the development of the Latin alphabet as they set the standard of using a flat/square brush on an angle to create contrast in the letterform (Figures 1&2). This angle is more conducive to the right-handed scribe (Figure 3). If the left-handed scribe attempted to write the same form using the same natural angle achieved through holding a broad-nib or flat/square brush, the contrast of the letterform would be inverted (Figure 4).
Inscription at the foot of the Trajan Column in Rome.
Photos found via Letterform Archive.
Photos by Carl Rohrs, September 2017
Phaedra Charles, type designer & lettering artist as well as a graduate of the Typer@Cooper Extended Program, in her studying of the history of writing found the following; One discovery that I have made is that the expression of letterforms is correlated between several specific factors: the writing tool, the writing direction, and the preference for right-handedness across the world. While studying the history of writing, it is interesting to see that almost all of these factors of writing can and has visibly changed—except for handedness. What this means for the left-handed person is that they must alter their orientation of writing in order to reproduce almost all letterforming systems.—A Guide to Sinistral Hand. I have come to very similar conclusions: for the left-handed person to properly reproduce most letterforms, the left-handed person must reorient the position of their writing. This results in what can appear to be impossible, performative or even “improper” orientations of the paper in correlation to the shoulders. The majority of older Writing Manuals will describe very strict rules for the posture of the scribe, dictating proper angles of the paper, arms, and shoulder. Of course, as is expected of these publications, no support for the left-handed scribe. Unfortunately, modern writing manuals are seldom any better.
Methods of Writing for the Left-Handed Scribe
The lefty in their pursuit of proper penmanship may trade in their comfort and quality of letterform in an attempt to maintain these unobtainable paper angles while being left-handed. This is likely due to the lack of support the left-handed scribe receives in writing manuals, so the left-handed scribe attempts to write as a right-handed scribe would. Unfortunately, today’s writing manuals offer mediocre support at best. While I do not expect the right-handed scribe to inform left-handed scribes on things they are not familiar with. Nor do I expect them to become left-handed to gain this knowledge; I have an expectation that those who teach recognize when they do not have the knowledge to help and defer to someone knowledgeable. When the right-handed scribe attempts to aid the left-handed scribe, the advice given is typically not actionable or dismissive. “I have no idea how, just figure it out”, “I’m the worst person to ask this about”, or my favorite, “OPTIONS: Switch to writing with the RIGHT hand!” a suggestion that would never be made to a right-handed scribe. It has been my experience that due to the rarity of the lefty, some more popular calligraphers do not feel the need to offer support to those who are left-handed. That is one less person who will pursue calligraphic arts. This article aims to educate and orient the already initiated right-handed scribe and the newly realized left-handed scribe through some helpful tips and strategies.
The methods I will suggest have an adjustment period associated with them. All of them require that the penman heavily observe their writing habits and how comfortable they are with different methods.
90° Method
In broad-edge scripts and pointed-pen scripts, the method of rotating the paper 90° is something I find very helpful. This is such that the top of the paper is to the right of the scribe with the right hand positioned at the top so that the left-handed scribe can pull the paper to the right as they write down the paper. The 90° method allows the left-handed scribe to use all types of nibs regardless of whether they are “left”-handed nibs. I find that this method is also aided by the left-handed scribe positioning their shoulders at an angle in correlation to the writing surface, with the left shoulder closer and the right shoulder far to allow the left arm to more freedom to access the paper, angling the shoulders also helps to correct the only disadvantage of this method which is the change in visual orientation. This method allows for the use of a left or right-oblique holder as well as a straight holder. (Figure 5)
Upside Down Method
I dubbed this method upside down, but truthfully, the paper isn't fully upside down; rather, it is a more extreme rotation of the 90° method. If the left-handed scribe continues to rotate the paper at some point, the writing surface/paper will be nearly upside down. This method can also be aided by rotating the shoulders in a similar way to the 90° method. This method allows for the use of a left or right-oblique holder as well as a straight holder. (Figure 6)
45° Method
A middle ground method between the Bent Wrist and 90° method. This method can utilize whole arm movement in pointed-pen scripts. (Figure 6)
Bent Wrist
I find this method to be uncomfortable, while it has the advantage of being easier for the eyes of the left-handed scribe to adjust to, it comes with the disadvantages of limited tools to use. This method requires an oblique nib (Figure 7) for broad nib scripts and requires more bending backwards of the wrist for pointed pen scripts while using a right oblique pen. I think this method has the most benefits for the left-handed scribe during the inception of their practice. The newer left-hand scribe can then analyze forms at an easier angle than the 90° or Update down method. (Figure 6)
The ‘Hook’
I do not find this method helpful in applications outside of everyday writing. The hook method is often adopted by left-handed people when writing to avoid ink smudges, but this can also open the door for more opportunities for smudges. The notion of the ‘hook’ technique is to move the hand up above what is written for increased visibility, and to decrease smudges, but the pinkie and ring finger may cause smudges, so be careful. It can also be helpful if you use your pinky as a brace above what is being written. In the application of calligraphy, the ductus of some letterforms is changed when this method is utilized, causing strokes to be pushed downwards instead of pulled upwards. This method is best used with scripts that have minimal ink flow, as well as ink that dries quickly. (Figure 6)
‘Proper’ Technique
Charles Zaner, founder of the Zanerian College, once held a strict opinion on posture and technique in calligraphy. However, once the Zaner-Bloser Company published their Lessons in Ornamental Penmanship in 1948, Zaner seems to have loosened his stance. Stating, “Keep in mind the fact that it is a beautiful style of penmanship that is desired, and that any method by which it may be acquired and executed to the best advantage is the one to adopt”. I think this is worthy of committing to memory for any scribe; any method that helps you acquire beautiful letterforms is the method to use. The notion that a specific prescribed method of posture and position in calligraphy is the only valid method is limited and exclusionary. Use whatever tools work for you, whatever method works for you. Make Beautiful Letterforms.
I hope to update and expand upon this writing as my knowledge of calligraphy and the methods of, grows. Thank you for reading.
Zaner—Lessons in Ornamental Penmanship 1948
