My name is Aida Nique and I financially support the slowdown because the show

allows me to understand poems on a deeper level. I love the thoughtful lead in

major provides before each poem. Join me in making a gift to the slowdown

today. Head to slowdownshow.org slash donate.

I'm Major Jackson and this is the slowdown.

One question that people frequently ask me, do I compose poetry long-hand with

pen and paper or on the computer? I can never tell if the question embeds a bias,

one in which handwriting is like slow cooking and a keyboard is closer to fast food.

I hear the past in my ear, make handwriting great again. The question carries

a belief that scribbling a poem on a pad or journal is keeping it real.

I wonder if ancient Egyptians or the monks that created the Carolingian script

raved and debated the effectiveness of new writing tools in their day. Yo,

you try that new animal bone? No, I'm good. I'm too analog. I'm sticking

with my old school read pen. It's still funky with the ink.

The question also puts me in mind of elementary school. Mrs. Morgan started

mornings with a meticulous exercise of writing upper and lowercase letters

across line paper. Then we'd write out words and cursive.

Each day had its own letter. Once we completed all 26, we begin a new.

She called us up to the blackboard to replicate our work. I still smell the chalk.

I see the horizontal poster of the alphabet above the blackboard showing arrow directions.

I see little major at the board, straining intensely to render our perfect

Z. I love the discipline of writing and cursive,

...