Papyrus painting. Photo by the author. Today this column ventures through not only space but time—to ancient Egypt, or more accurately to a papyrus painting in the style of Egyptian hieroglyphics, kindly given to me by the parents of a student graduating from my writing program, a decade ago. Like most people, I know … Continue reading #EndangeredAlphabets: Whatever You Do, Don’t Call It Picture-Writing
#EndangeredAlphabets: Beyond the Alphabet
The Adinkra symbol Aya, the fern, which stands for resilience and resourcefulness. Carving and photo by the author. My book Writing Beyond Writing came about because of the Adinkra symbols of Ghana. These are remarkable symbols, each of which is a kind of graphic shorthand for a proverb or piece of traditional wisdom—not a letter … Continue reading #EndangeredAlphabets: Beyond the Alphabet
Exploring the World of Endangered Alphabets
Fourteen years ago, for reasons so odd and random they don’t bear explaining in brief, I began to carve pieces of text in endangered alphabets. I couldn’t read or pronounce any of the words or phrases I was carving. I wasn’t an anthropologist or a linguist—I wasn’t even a woodworker. What I didn’t yet suspect … Continue reading Exploring the World of Endangered Alphabets
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 