BBC Article about fountain pens

[Scrawler]

This article was attached to my newsletter from the Ottawa Fountain Pen Society. I thought a few of you might be interested.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18071830

[Bogon07]

Thanks Scrawler. The sidebar about Neil Gaiman was very interesting too.

Neil Gaiman on his nibs

English author Neil Gaiman explains why he writes his novels with fountain pens
"It started in 1994 when I wrote the novel Stardust - in my head I wanted it to be written in the same way as it would have been in the 1920s, so I bought a big notepad and Waterman pen.
"It was the first time I'd used a fountain pen since I was about 13. I found myself enjoying writing more slowly and liked the way I had to think through sentences differently. I discovered I loved the fact that handwriting forces you to do a second draft, rather than just tidying up and deleting bits on a computer. I also discovered I enjoy the tactile buzz of the ritual involved in filling the pens with ink.
"Now when I write novels I have two fountain pens on the go, with two different colour inks. One is always my favourite, but I alternate between the two, so I can see what I have written each day. I also love the way people react when I sign books with fountain pens. I try to sign them in different colours such as brown, green or grey as it is really nice to show that it's obviously been done by a human being.
"I don't have any time for incredibly fancy pens and use a different 'lead' pen for each novel. Right now I am using a Twsbi, which is an incredibly robust but smooth writing pen from Taiwan. My current favourite is a Visconti because it has a magnet in the lid which goes clunk when I put the top on - I am easily satisfied. I probably have between 40 and 60 fountain pens, which is a bit silly, but once people are aware that you like them, they like to give them as gifts."

[jokeruk]

Not seen that before - an interesting read. I thought there were some decent comments on the telegraph link in the article too.

Leigh

[Jerome Tarshis]

That article was published two years ago and did not go unnoticed in the fountain-pen cybercommunity at the time. I wouldn't infer that fountain pens have stopped selling, but it may be that new articles asserting that the fountain pen is making a comeback are themselves rather thin on the ground.