Saturday, July 18, 2009

Texting (and Other Writing) is Weaving

Texting (and Other Writing -- Creating of Texts) is Weaving

Origin:
1300–50; ME < class="ital-inline">textus text, terms, L: text, structure, orig., pattern of weaving, texture (of cloth), equiv. to tex(ere) to weave + -tus suffix of v. action


"An ancient metaphor: thought is a thread, and the raconteur* is a spinner of yarns -- but the true storyteller, the poet, is a weaver. The scribes made this old and audible abstraction into a new and visible fact. After long practice, their work took on such an even, flexible texture that they called the written page a textus, which means cloth." [Robert Bringhurst, "The Elements of Typographic Style"]

* A raconteur is a person who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly.